Regeneration
by Frostbite Journals
Summary: No no no, you have it all wrong. Piers SURVIVED. And this is how it happened. Read through Piers Nivans' struggle as he gets used to life after RE6, thanks to Jake Muller's blood. Please review, it does contain slash, Piers x Chris of course. And Capcom? Screw them.
1. The Surface

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 1: The Surface**_

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**MASSIVELY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTES**

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**This is not your average Chris-and-Piers-are-a-hot-mess fic, nor is it ****_solely_**** about Chris and Piers. I will be sure to add plenty of drama and storyline concering Jake Muller and the other characters of Resident Evil. I've done my best to make the opening chapter as realistic as possible, because let's face facts here: there are a dozen different ****_perfectly plausible_**** ways that Capcom could have ended RE6 with Piers on top, they just fucked up and chose not to, those jackasses. I went with the one that generally bended the ending the least, while trying my hardest to back it up realistically.**

**I have wanted to write a fanfic like this for AGES. And despite my torn favor of wanting to be all over Piers and wishing Chris would be all over me, I am happy to pair them together. More happy than I can say, actually. Capcom's dumb ass may not have realized it, but they put Chris and Piers a lot closer than they probably meant to (or, I dunno, maybe it was on purpose? They generally just seem to want to piss the fans off these days.) and I know you were all screaming "KISS HIM YOU IDIOT" several times throughout the campaign (hint hint: Piers injects himself—Chris puts tender arm hand around Piers' head *snicker, smirk*) Since they purposely flaunted Piers' potential in our face only to take it away, I find great pleasure in the fact that there probably will not be another SUCCESSFUL Resident Evil story, or at least from what I've heard. Don't flame me if you disagree.**

**And hey, as a side note, not only is my name Chris, but my best friend on is named Pier—just short of Pier(s). What a funny coincidence.**

**PIERS FOREVER! This chapter is dedicated to Piers, Pier, Chris (Redfield), and Clarry.**

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Chris Redfield 

Haos screamed, his body being torn apart by the electrical blast. I watched as his guts and blood and brains flew in a thousand different directions. That electricity, I knew, was Piers. My heart was already gone. Piers had just given me his last goodbye in blowing that thing to smithereens. I already knew I was hallucinating again. I had to be, because that massive blast...

...had seemed to come from _my _direction. It had barely missed the shuttle when it tore through the monster. I guess that was a good thing.

Slowly, the shuttle slowed and came to a stop, floating up to the surface of the ocean. The door unsealed itself, and I opened it. The sun was setting on the horizon, giving everything a red and gold glow. I tested my footing, seeing if the shuttle would flip over if I tried to get out and swim anywhere. To my surprise, it held firm. Of course though, it would have to. The shuttle wouldn't float to the surface without an air pocket inside. But, I couldn't hold back thoughts...of what Piers had done for me. He could have come with me, could have saved himself. There _had_ to be a cure somewhere out there, and if he had just joined me...but wait, then that tentacle monster, Haos would have attacked us again. And we'd both be dead. I wondered if he'd stayed for that reason.

Ripples in the water caught my attention. I saw a small school of fish investigating the giant hunk of metal I was sitting in, then swim off in a hurry. Damn those little things, not having any sort of thought as to what had just happened. To the man I had just left behind.

But the ripples kept coming. I looked over the edge of the glass. There was something green floating in the water under the ship. Kelp, algae? Had something gotten stuck on the bottom when it came flying through the water?

It wasn't algae or kelp. It was a scarf. A green scarf. Slowly, a tentacle came into view. As fast as my heart had sunk minutes earlier, now it was shooting to the surface.

It couldn't be right. I had to be suffering long-overdue PTSD or something. Right? But he had snapped me out of my dreamland once...Was it possible that...?

It was.

He broke the surface, ending a nightmare for me for the second time. He climbed onto the shuttle pod, shaking water off of himself, and grabbing his scarf out of the water. He grinned at me and leaned back against the rim of the door. He spat out what must have been a gallon of water. Piers Nivans was alive.

"_Piers!_" I yelled, launching myself at him, but he fought off my hugs. "Not just now, Captain. I still don't know whether this virus can spread through touch." but he was still grinning. I was just about speechless at this point.

"H-How? I saw you-You stood there and watched this thing launch!"

His grin lowered to a soft smile. "When that monster broke through, It caused a huge surge of water. I got swept out, and got just close enough to grab on to the bottom end of the shuttle. Actually...well, it was hard at first, but it looks like I can breathe water now."

I was so shocked. It was just so...impressed. "You...you'd...you were..." I couldn't stand that smirk he had growing on his face. But I was still glad to see his face, infected or not. "...You might be the best soldier I've seen in my lifetime, Piers." I said with complete honesty. He smiled warmly. "Captain?"

"What is it?"

"About this virus..."

My heart dropped, again. The virus. My optimism was countered with realism. The C-Virus was going to make him lose his mind, soon enough. I looked him over, and he was breathing pretty heavily. "Don't...don't worry Piers. We'll find you a cure. You're gonna be fine, I promise."

"I'm not sure this virus is the same one I thought it was."

"W-what? What are you saying?"

"I think...well, I'm not sure, but I think the virus is stabilizing, at least for now. I can't really make sense of it."

I put a hand on his shoulder, despite his protests. "Let's get you to the BSAA Outpost. We're gonna work 'til you're back to normal, Piers. I'll do it if it takes me a lifetime." I said.

"You know that's not a promise you can't keep."

"I can try. And dammit, I am gonna try my hardest."

"It won't work, Captain. They haven't found a cure for these viruses in all the time it's existed, they're not going to find one now just because of one soldier."

"But we have two soldiers." I said, regaining my optimism. "One of them is Chris Redfield." He grinned at that. "And the other one," I said with determination, "is Piers Motherfucking Nivans, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Chris."

I pressed the button to radio Central. It was time to get my buddy home.

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_Months Later_

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Jake Muller's blood was a miracle. It wasn't just an immunity vaccine; it was the cure that I had been trying to find for the past fifteen years. Piers had been right, the virus wasn't the same strain he'd thought. It was a different one entirely, one we hadn't seen before. According to the research, the virus had temporarily stabilized due to the massive amount of bioenergy Piers had expended killing Haos. And while we had no guarantee that this development would cure other viruses, hearing the news that Piers would not go insane, and wouldn't have to stay in his condition was like waking up from a nightmare all over again. Again. Jake really was a lifesaver in more ways than one.

I was sitting at my table in the BSAA lounge. I had come back here a few minutes after they'd dismissed me to run a few more tests on Piers. And speaking of the man, the door opened to reveal Piers standing there, naked from the waist up, his lower half clothed in thick jeans. They had tried to get clothes on him before, but the giant squid on his arm wasn't having it.

"Piers! How's it holding up?"

"Got a few free hours, they said." he grunted. Looking at him, not much had changed so far, but I could see that less of his face was infected and that his right eye seemed to be healed and working again. It usually drew a lot of eyes when he walked around sporting half the Green Giant on his right side, but he never gave it a second thought, another thing I admired about him. "Great! Are you feeling okay?"

"Better than I was. Um, Captain, have you got a minute?" Piers asked.

"Sure. What did you need?"

"Well, I was wondering if you might walk with me over to the bar across town."

"You sure you don't mind people staring?"

"They can stare all they want. I've got nothing worth hiding."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Most people would bet on that."

"And they'd lose. Come on, I only have a few hours before they want me back in the infirmary. Will you?"

"Sure thing." I got up, stretched, and got my jacket. "You might wanna cover up. It's getting cold fast." I said with a smile. "I've got something I can cover myself with, for the most part." he said, pulling a blue cloak out of his pocket. He wrapped it around himself, covering his left side and most of his chest. It looked pretty thin. "You sure that's gonna be enough?" "I'll manage, Captain."

"Come on, you know you can call me Chris. Have you really gotten so used to 'Captain?'" I asked.

Piers smiled. "To be honest, yeah, I kind of have."

I laughed. "Well, I'm on a well earned rest—" Piers' eyebrow lifted, and I was reminded of how he'd wanted me to stay in the BSAA, "—and so are you, so it's Chris for the next six months. Got it?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Chris, sir." Piers said with a smirk. "Let's get going."

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_At the bar_

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I ordered a bacon sandwich and a _small_ beer, and Piers had an iced tea. I resisted the urge to pull a pack of Newports out of my pocket and instead rested my chin on my knuckles. "What did you have in mind? Or did you just want to get a decent meal?" I asked.

For whatever reason, Piers winced. "I thought I'd take a little break of my own, you know, talk about things."

"Shoot." I offered.

"Well...The thing is, Chris..." he paused. "Up front, I was wondering...If I really had died, Chris...would you have stayed in the BSAA?"

I paused, thinking. I didn't really care to imagine if Piers had really died. I had already had a taste of that, I didn't want any more. I gulped. After a long while, I answered truthfully: "I...wouldn't have wanted to think about staying in the BSAA, Piers. Not the way things went...But I would have. To...to honor your memory."

Piers looked touched. The words felt awkward coming out of my mouth. We were surrounded by people, some of whom were eyeing us. I felt more uncomfortable than I should have. Piers had a way of doing that that I really didn't like. He was a marksman for that too, I guess.

"Thank you, Chris...That means a lot." Piers said.

"Yeah...but you aren't dead. And I'm still working, for some reason." I say with a snicker. Piers laughed and punched me on the arm. "Piers, really though—" I started, but he cut me off. "But nothing. You _are_ the BSAA, Chris. It needs you."

"What it needs is someone who can lead it well, who isn't heading for his midlife crisis." I said, feeling old even as I said it.

"But can that person beat the shit out of boulders?" Piers asked with a crooked smile.

"Hey, easy." I said, taking a sip of my Coors. "Piers, I want you to carry on what I started." I said gently.

Piers looked down. "I'm just not ready, Cap-ah, Chris. I don't have the kind of qualities that you do. I can't lead."

"You can. And you are the best damn soldier I've ever seen, and being modest here, maybe even better than me." Piers looked up. "I am not. I have good aim, that's all."

"You saved my life and thousands of others. The BSAA needs _you_, Piers. And there's nobody I'd rather have take my place."

Piers was quiet for a moment. "Nobody? Is that really true, Chris? I'm sure you can think of one or two people."

"Nope." I said proudly. "And believe me, soon as you're healed, your getting promoted. Speaking of which, what have they said about the virus?"

Piers stirred his tea. "It's receding. My eye's better, if you noticed." I nodded. "Your head okay?" "It will be, soon. It's my arm I'm worried about."

"What did they say about it?"

"It's...healing very slowly. Barely, but it is. I mean, it's a freaking tentacle claw lightning rod. It isn't just going to go away like that."

"How long?"

Piers was silent. "Piers, how long will it take?"

"Well...I can either go with the bionic arm, or..."

"Or what?"

"...or wait a few months."

"A few months? For it to completely heal?" I asked.

"Yeah." Piers said, a little defensively. "By that time, all traces of the virus in my body should be gone. And my arm will be back to normal."

"That's great news! You had me worried! I thought you were going to say years! This is amazing!"

Piers was still quiet. He was looking at his feet, sipping more and more. His glass would need refilling soon. "Either way, I still might not be the marksman I was before."

So that's what it was. "I mean, I might just take the bionic arm and try to get used to it now."

"Don't." I warned him. "If, no, _when_ your arm goes back to normal, it'll just need a little time to get used to itself. Once it does, you'll be dead-eyeing birds again in no time!"

"Do you really, honestly believe that? Tell me the truth, Chris." he said.

"Yes." I said gingerly. "I do. I swear I do, and you should too." I cut my bacon sandwich in half. "Here, you need to eat. Think about other things." I told him. He took the food tentatively at first, but then started eating hungrily. "Thanks for that. And you're right, I'm starving." he said through his stuffed face. "Easy there, last thing we want is for you to choke." I said, patting him on the back.

Wow. Felt like our positions were reversed. Every time I would explode, or get angry or distracted, Piers had drawn me back in to business. Well, now it was my turn to do the same for him. And I would be there, the whole way for him.

**What do you guys think? Did I do a good job? I hope so. I want my REFanfiction to be the best it can possibly be. This is the first of many chapters, and the prime of many RE stories to come, hope I can live up to it! Thanks for reading, please review! -Chris (Not Redfield)**


	2. Quietly Waiting

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 2: Quietly Waiting**_

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**Well, here I go. This is it, it's a real story now. And that means I can't rush things into a smut scene, even if I meant to make it a good plotline. Well, all the better. I need a new writing challenge (as if Strange Man weren't enough). Here it is, I'm putting all of my writing skill into this! Enjoy! -Chris  
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_Jake Muller_

I sat there on the bench, hands in my pockets, staring at a couple teenagers having a snowball fight. I felt like having a beer, but I was supposed to sit here until the BSAA scientist people had decided if they needed more of my blood. I was back in America, at least. Where the virus wasn't spreading. But I felt...bored. Just...out of it. I mean, I hadn't enjoyed getting smacked around by giant fucking bloodsucking monsters and a clone bitch, but I'd felt like I was making a difference, getting somewhere. Now...well, I was still making a difference—the biggest one there could be, perhaps, but I just felt like I had gotten, I dunno, stagnant.

Maybe it was just that I had stopped traveling. I hadn't ever been out of America, or even out of state before Lanshiang. Until then, I had really just been trying to like out a careful life. I hated my dad, I did. But I guess I had a pretty rough start with Chris and Piers. I felt kinda bad about that now that Piers' life was dependent on my blood.

I got up. I needed to shake the imagery of those teenagers as zombies out of my head. I walked up the street and over the the BSAA lot.

_Piers Nivans_

I looked down at my arm. It sat there, huge and green and pink and blue and gray and callous. I flexed my claw. A few sparks traveled up and down the tentacle lazily. It no longer felt so weird or cumbersome carrying this arm. I took my left hand and felt down my right forearm, something I'd been doing lately. I could tell that the virus antimutagen was working. A few veins stood out here and there and the flesh was going from green to gray. The bulbous lumps here and there were no longer quite so pronounced. I looked in the mirror situated on the table. My right eye was back to its normal light blue. And thankfully, I was no longer covered in slime. I looked back down at my arm.

I didn't see it as a freakshow as much as I used to. It was still heavy and kind of a burden, but it was still my arm. My shooting arm. It was just mutated. And that was my own fault. Or my left arm's, I had kind of started to see them as two separate entities lately. It wasn't my right arm that was a cripple, it was my left arm. I can't do anything with it. I can't dress myself, I sure as hell can't write, and even holding a coffee cup is a challenge. Driving? Bitch please. I was pretty capable with both my arms before Haos—being a soldier, I had to be—but since my right arm went down, my left arm had fallen with it. My right arm, on the other hand, had still managed to stay useful, despite the mutation. With a grin, I remembered how much electricity I could generate and how I had spewed Haos all over the sea with it. My right arm was still shooting strong. It felt like a friend who wouldn't leave me, even injured. My left arm was going to have to get in the spirit of things.

Damn, look at me, I'm calling my left arm guilty like a judge. I am going to have to do _so much training_ to get back in my usual condition. Hopefully though, I can make it happen quick, and maybe even get better.

My bedside buzzer rang. I picked up the receiver. "Yeah?" I said gruffly.

"Mr. Nivans, sir, we're going to need you at Drekker Street, at the pool in about twenty minutes. We're running some new tests."

I hesitated. "At...the pool?" I asked. What the hell?

"Yes, and bring a change of clothes." the casual lady said. Then she hung up. I knew it was irrational, but I could feel blood rushing to my cheeks. Between my giant claw arm and me being half naked more often than not, I've had more looks than I care to think about. I don't wanna think about trying to swim with this thing again with all the scientists staring me down. But I did as Science Lady said and slipped on my half-shirt and packed up an extra set of under wear, jeans, back-up boxers, another half-shirt, swim trunks, and a towel. I put it all in a bag, slung it over my shoulder, and walked out of the little mini-section that the BSAA Central had reserved for me. After I had gotten through to the lot and out of the gates, then walked down to the blue car at the end of the street. Opening the door (with my left hand) I climbed into the backseat and squeezed myself into a safer spot—the last thing I wanted was to injure myself in any way in another crash or explosion. I looked up front.

"Helena?"

"Hey." Helena said, flashing a smile at me. "How's it going, Survivor?"

"Good, I guess." I said, shaking my garment on into a more covering position.

"Where to?" she asked nicely.

"The pool on Drekker Street." I said sulkily.

She raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?" she asked.

"Nope."

"Whatever you say." she said, then started to drive. For about five minutes, we were silent. At the corner of Drekker and Tolulla, I piped up. "Shouldn't you be off killing some J'avo?" I asked.

"No, actually. I'm on a mostly freelance mission, just trying to check on some jacked computers. Today in fact. Thought I'd come do you a favor before I left for Canada. Shame it can't last a little longer. I suppose I should have come and visited you earlier."

"It's no trouble." I said meekly. I didn't really know Helena all that well. We were at the pool parking lot now.

"Well, I'll be back soon enough. 'Til then, keep my friends company." she said. I found it odd that she said "keep her friends company" instead of _them_ keeping _me_ company. Not that I felt, I dunno, verbally neglected or whatever, just thankful that she wasn't trying to baby me. I got out of the car, closed it, and stepped up onto the sidewalk, turning around. She waved, and pulled out of the parking lot. I lifted my right arm a little before realizing my error, then waved goodbye to her with my left. Then she was gone.

I sighed, and walked up through the hallway. Sure enough, Science Lady, Ciara, I think her name is, was sitting around the pool with a bunch of her scientists buddies. There was nobody else here, guess they reserved it. None of them seemed the least bit fazed that it was November and there was snow on the ground. "Good to see you again, Piers. We're just going to see if your lungs and mutations react to water.

"Um..." I said shyly. "Am I supposed to...uh..." Blood was rushing to my face. I'm usually not this shy.

"That won't be necessary." Ciara said kindly, but a few of the women giggled. "Just get into the pool, submerge yourself, and see if your mutation has affected your lungs, and if it will stay that way should it have."

"So, try and breathe underwater?" I asked. She nodded.

I took a deep breath, then slid into the pool. That water was _cold _like a_ bitch_ to start with, but I sucked it up. I sat still for a second, then submerged my head. I tried to suck in water, but my reflexes kicked in and I surfaced. Nope, no breathing underwater for Piers. But I saw the looks on researchers' faces, and sank again. This time, I held my breath, and tried to see what might trigger some gill or something.

After a while, it clicked. I was holding my breath, but also not holding my breath. Looking down, I saw my chest moving in and out, and I could definitely feel the flow. I was holding air in my lungs, but water was...I don't know, saturating me? I could feel it tickling my skin just so slightly. Then I got it—I was breathing through my skin, not gills or whatever. I looked up. Oddly, the water wasn't blurring my vision in the slightest. I surfaced, and released the air I'd been holding.

"I can do it." I said curtly to Ciara. "I can breathe underwater."

She brightened up. "Fantastic!" and then she scribbled something on her clipboard along with all the other scientists. "Now, about your bioelectric properties." she said.

"What about them?" I said carefully. "Well, do they work underwater?" the man next to her asked.

Jesus Christ. I don't ask to be the center of attention, but I would've thought they'd have heard what had happened with Haos. "Yeah, fine."

"Can you show us?"

Of course, right? But I submerged myself again, this time for my own pleasure, and tensed up my right arm. It took a second, but I soon saw sparks flowing up and down the giant green claw. I willed myself to push it further, and with a flex of my nerves, the sparks started to flow outward in the water. I was careful not to overdo it and electrocute myself, because for all I knew, that could happen. Then I brought myself back up to the surface again.

"Excellent!" Dr. Ciara said, clapping. "We're debating it, but me might be able to adjust the antimutagen to allow for these properties to stay with you."

My gut lurched. I wasn't a freakshow for them to superpower. That was Neo-Umbrella's job. "What do you mean?" I said cautiously.

"Well, if we can work it out, and you were able to keep these abilities, well, it could only be helpful, right?"

That's some attitude for a scientist to have. If only it were on some other occasion. "I don't know how I feel about that." I said.

They looked crestfallen. "Right, of course. With your consent only, Mr. Nivans. Let us know if you think about it."

"I will." I said, not really wanting to think about it at all.

After a few more tests and simulations of whatever they were trying to do with me, Ciara and her team of researchers said I was free to stay here for as long as I wanted, since the pool was reserved, and call to be picked up later, or could come with them, dry off, and get back home. Since the option of having some downtime to myself in the pool was open, I chose that option. So after they left, I went into the gym area, haphazardly stripped off my jeans and underwear (the top had fallen away a long while ago) and struggled into my swim trunks. I ran on the treadmill for a while pushing myself to the fastest speed it would go at the highest angle. I imagine I probably would have looked less like a complete freak and more like an _incomplete_ freak to anyone who would have seen me in any other case. But soon, after I'd warmed up and worked up a good sweat, I stopped. Then, in a moment of vain weakness, I looked in the mirror.

Actually, once you got past the combination squid and lobster on my arm and the green skin receding down the right side of my face, well..._Damn, _I looked good. Still not like I used to though. Gonna have to come here more often.

After that, I lifted some weights, pulled some cords, did some thrusts, and generally just excercised 'til I was bored. After that, I thought about getting back in the pool for a while, but the air was cold enough as it was, so I fired up the jacuzzi I sank in up to my neck, laid back on the step, leaned back, closed my eyes, and relaxed.

After about two minutes, I already didn't want to leave. It felt so good to just sit back and unwind here. My right arm tingled and seemed to react well to the warm water. I rolled my shoulders and thought about what I'd be going through in the labs soon. Hey, if I got to come here a little more for it, it might be worth it to be a lab rat. After that, I reflected on how much crap I'd gone through in the past few weeks. Damn, it was lucky I had a partner like Chris to help me through this. I remember his face when I launched him in the shuttle without me...

"You seem to be doing well."

My thoughts were interrupted. I looked up to see Jake Muller standing over me. Wow, this was embarassing. "Oh, uh...hey there."

Jake didn't seem to be too interested in me, or anything for that matter, but spoke anyway. "It's pretty cold out here. You've got balls to come here without a shirt."

"It was reserved." I said sheepishly. "Scientists...doing tests."

Jake nodded. "I can believe that." After a few moments of silence, he said "Look, it's an icy bitch out here, you mind if I join you?" he said. I nodded towards the opposite end of the jacuzzi. Jake stripped down to his boxers and slid into the water on the other side.

I wasn't looking at him, and he wasn't looking at me. Well, I was looking at him every once in a while, at least, so for all I knew we just kept missing. Occasionally he or I would shift positions every once in a while, me doing my best to keep my right side from being too conspicuous. Yeah right. After a while, I decided I needed to speak up. Awkward or not, this was an opportunity to talk to Jake properly.

"Listen...about the whole blood thing...Thanks. You've saved my life. And a lot of others, too." I said quietly.

"There's a lot of other people to thank besides me." Jake said, still not looking at me.

"Yeah, well...it's hard when we...got off to the kind of start we did."

"You're right, it is. So...I'm sorry."

I blinked. "Sorry for what?"

"For you needing the blood in the first place. My father created this whole war, and it's because of him that peple are turning into monsters, including you." —this stung a little— "So it's my responsibility to reverse the damage he's done. I owe it to them...and to you."

This hit me pretty hard. After a few seconds, I pooled my courage and said "You're not like your father at all."

"I know." Jake said coldly. "Don't talk about him any more than you have to after this, okay?"

"Alright." I said, tentatively. I knew it must be a hard subject for him.

"I...my mother was an idiot, but I loved her. It's a shame, having a compassionate fool for one parent, and a hellbent genius for the other. I want to be as different from him as I can."

"Well...you are." I said simply. "And shaving your head was a good place to start, too." I said, trying to lift his mood a little. I thought he cracked a smile. But I wasn't sure.

"Don't get me wrong." he said suddenly, "But never knowing your father outside of bioterrorism and having a military legend kill him is one thing." he paused, trying to find words. "And now I'm giving my blood to the man who's, well, all over him."

"All over Chris? What does that mean?" I asked, leaning up. "Sorry, I just meant you two are really close. I could have said something worse." he said, the wierdest twinkle in his eye. I didn't like that. "Like I said, don't take it the wrong way."

After staring him down for a few minutes, I sat back down in the water. Jake stuck out his hand, and I shook it. Then he leaned back, and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, I did the same. I don't know how much time passed while I slept, but I remember waking up, and the sun was a lot lower in the sky than it had been when I had gotten here. My muscles felt nice and loose, and I felt well-rested. I heard a splash, and a lot of dripping, followed by a quiet "_Shit, it's cold._" I rubbed my eyes and looked up. Jake was standing up, having just gotten out of the jacuzzi. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you. Look away, would you?" I obliged, and I heard him removing his soaked underwear and redressing. "Okay, you can look now." I turned around, and he was sitting there in the clothes he'd come here in. As I watched, he tossed the sopping boxers into the trash can next to a table. "You want a smoke?" he asked, offering a cigarette. "No, sorry, what I need is to wake up a little. You planning on heading out?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm gonna get going. Later Piers." he said, walking out and hopping the gate. I barely registered that he used my first name.

I sat there in the jacuzzi for a little while longer, not wanting to face the frigid air, but eventually I was getting bored, so I forced myself out. I yelped an obscenity myself, then took my time redressing. After that, I packed up, and followed Jake out. He was long since gone, but there was a car waiting and a buzzer on the hood. I clicked it, feeling just a little important, and waited. About five minutes later, a man walked out of the pool building. "Sorry, was at a meet...ing..." he said, trailing off at the sight of me. "Ah, yes, well, I'm here to drive you home now." I nodded courteously and got in. I noticed he looked in his mirror a lot. In fact, if he looked any more frequently, he'd be causing a wreck. "Eyes on the road." I reminded him, and he stopped.

Ten minutes later, I was situated in my room, laying on the bed. I had already had a good rest, so why go to bed? Maybe I should go see someone and tire myself out again. Just something to occupy myself with.

* * *

**Okay, flew with the wind on that one. Not quite satisfied with the ending myself, or the general chapter, but I'm working on the plot, so bear with me. Thanks for reading, please review! —Chris **


	3. Calls

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 3: Calls**_

* * *

**Well. Look at me now, third chapter in three days. Am I rushing this? Or am I just a hard worker? I wasn't too fond of my second chapter, reading it over. I hope I can do better on this one. Also, please forgive me if I get the location of the North American B.S.A.A. Headquarters wrong, I looked it up on the wiki, and they didn't say exactly where in America it was, and I didn't really expect any greater, given it's a top-priority U.S. organization. So I just made up a location of my own. ~_~ Please read and review! P.S. Fuck you Capcom. Just sayin'. —Chris**

* * *

_Piers Nivans_

_All over_ Chris. I hated to admit it, but Jake had touched a nerve there. I was NOT _all over_ Chris. A guy can't seem to be friends with another guy these days without being gay. A little respect for your superior should be a good trait to have.

I was sitting around my bedroom, trying not to think about it and failing. I had already taken a couple of sleeping pills, but it wasn't working. I figured maybe blasting a few trash cans would make me tired, but that might get noticed. I had hoped to meet up with Chris, if only to prove myself right, but he was already asleep. I don't blame him. I never much was of a late nighter myself, but I messed up sleeping for so long in that jacuzzi. Maybe I could go see Leon Kennedy. I didn't know him much better than Helena, but he seems like a cool enough guy to hang around. I walked out of my rooms and got all the way to the lobby before I remembered that, duh, Leon wasn't part of the B.S.A.A., and wouldn't have any reason to be here. I walked back up to my room, feeling stupid, and then fell back up onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. Guess I was just gonna have to wait for that Unisom to kick in, unless the virus or the antimutagen had prevented it taking effect. Yeah, that was probably it.

After a few minutes, I jerked upright—my private line was ringing. I picked up the reciever. There was no name, and I didn't recognize the number. I picked it up. "Hello?" I asked.

"Hello? Is this Piers Nivans?" a girl's voice I still didn't recognize said. "Yes, can I help you?" I said tentatively.

"Oh, I'm Ashley Graham, I'm...well, I used to be the President's daughter."

"Oh!" I sat up straight. "Right, what can I do for you?" "I was calling to say I think it's amazing that you're going to recover from the virus. Is...is it true you infected yourself to save the world?" she asked.

"Well, I wouldn't say that...I was on a mission, but got caught under rubble, and the Captain was...preoccupied."

"I heard about that. It was that Haos monster, right?" I was surprised she knew the name of the thing. "Yeah."

"And you were going to sacrifice yourself for your Captain, and the B.S.A.A. ..._and_ you _still_ managed to kill that monster!" She said in awe. "Yeah, well...I guess I did." I said sheepishly. I wasn't quite sure what to say when the former president's daughter was gushing at me over the phone.

"The new president was going to have you awarded, but I convinced him to wait until you were recovered enough to take it personally, you and Captain Redfield both. Your teammates..." she paused here. I would have too. "they'll be getting honorable mentions, and their, uh, posthumous medals."

"Wow...Thank you." I said quietly. Things were very quiet for a minute. "You are a great soldier. I can't think of anyone who deserves the cure more." she said.

"Are you sure about that?" I said slowly.

"Yes." she said, sounding strained. "I know you'll be a great soldier soon, you've got a lot coming in the future."

"Ashley..." I said carefully. "How old are you again?" "I just turned twenty-nine."

Damn...she sounded like a teenager! She was older than I was! "I know, I sound like a little girl." her voice said.

"No no, I didn't mean that, I just...sorry, I—" "It's no trouble. At any rate, I'm not as helpless as I used to be, so I thought I'd make this call on my own. I hope you're doing well?"

"Yeah, I'm doing okay."

"Good." She sighed. "My dad wanted to talk to you, but they kept saying you were already gone. So I asked for this number, and I didn't mean to call at such a late hour, but I was away from the phone for a long while. Don't worry, I won't abuse it."

"It's fine." I said. "Thanks for calling."

"You're very welcome. I have to go now, but take care and get well soon, okay?"

"I will." I said firmly.

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye." I said, and then the phone beeped and she hung up. I set it back on the reciever. All of a sudden, I felt really tired.

* * *

_Ada Wong_

I looked up at the sky and sighed. I had had the dream again. The one where I turn into a mass of white goo and eat myself. I shook out my red robe and put it on, walking out into the apartment hallway. The fresh air hit me hard, and I pulled it tighter around myself. I thought about just how many people were dead because of Carla Radames, or worse, who might still be alive because of her. True, I had felt a little bad for her, but she had attacked so many people, and that made me very angry. I was especially that she had slipped out from under Leon. Isn't he supposed to be sharper than that? Really now.

As I thought of Leon, I remembered that Leon had met up with Piers Nivans in China, and he was in the condition he was because of her. And one Chris Redfield had also met her, both before I had ever had the chance. That meant that as far as those two knew, I was dead and a criminal.

I should fix that.

* * *

_Later the next day..._

* * *

_Chris Redfield_

I looked at my alarm clock. It was 8:30 a.m. I should probably get up right about now, sleeping in would not be a good habit to get into if I wanted to stay a Captain. Ah, screw it, one morning won't hurt. I turned over, pulled the spread over my chest, and closed my eyes.

Then my phone buzzer rang.

Feeling cheated, I slapped a hand on the button. "What can I help with?" I said groggily.

"Chris, there's a woman here to see you. She wouldn't tell me her name, but we searched her and we can't find anything dangerous on her. She also wished to see Mr. Nivans when he is ready for visitors."

"Did she say what she wanted with us?"

"She says she simply wants to have a casual talk. Don't worry sir, we made sure she's not dangerous, and hell, if she is, you can take her, right?"

"Maybe after some coffee." I said bitterly. "Be there in five minutes." Damn, if I'd known it was just a casual visit, I could have ignored the phone and gotten a few more hours of sleep. But I forced myself to sit up, rubbed my eyes, slipped on my boxers, brushed my teeth and generally got myself presentable, then put on some jeans and a collared shirt. Still feeling cheated, I walked down to the central office. "Right in there, Chris." the management man said, pointing towards an office down the hallway. I walked down and went into the room. Waiting for me was a woman. With dark brown hair. In a red suit. My breath caught in my thoat.

"_Ada!_" I hissed. I pulled a fighting stance and slammed the door shut, locking it. Before I could throw a punch at her, she held out her hand. "Hello, I'm Ada Wong."

I blinked. "Don't pull this shit with me, I know who you are. We've met three times."

"No we haven't. The person you met was Carla Radames."

This time I almost laughed. "What, your evil twin sister?"

"Essentially, yes. The person you met was a clone of me. After she fell, she attacked me, and I was forced to kill her. If you ask Leon or Helena, I'm sure they can tell you more. However," she said, "the deaths of your friends and the outbreak of the C-Virus are, inadvertently, my fault." she pulled this real, sorry-ass, somber look on her face.

"It's entirely your fault. I don't know how you survived, but you're going on trial, _tomorrow_. Coming here was a mistake. Hands in the air."

Ada did as I told her, but continued speaking. "The reason the clone existed was because of a relationship I had with a Derek Simmons. It seems he took my rejection a little harshly, and, well, made a new me. Which then started Neo-Umbrella. The file will tell you everything. Ask Leon, I swear he'll tell you the truth."

"Shut up and start walking." And she did just that as I escorted her out of the room.

* * *

Well, damn. I was in utter fucking shock. _Utter. Fucking. _Shock. She was telling the truth. I didn't even think cloning was possible. But it is. Leon showed me the file, and there it all was, the C-Virus, the testing, the clone bitch, everything.

Ada's grin was pissing me off to no end.

"If you could take me to Piers?"

* * *

**GAAAAAAH. IMMA DIE FROM THE PLOT I AM PLANNING. Working as hard as I can x_x —Chris**


	4. Life and Death

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 4: Life and Death**_

* * *

**Okay, so last chapter was a royal screwup x_x accidentally posted the wrong document for chapter 3, and didn't feel like letting me change it. It's fixed now, so please read it! I already see that it's affected both the number of views and visitors. Can't say I hold them any blame, who makes the kind of mistake I did and leaves it up for 6 hours, just so they can sleep? Not even being sarcastic here :( I PROMISE it will NEVER happen again! But here's the fourth chapter, and hopefully it will draw in some views to make up the loss. Which reminds me, please remember not only to read and review, but to tell your friends about this fanfic if you liked it! The extra is always appreciated. If you want, let me know who you want to see through the eyes of next, and we'll talk. So, here we go. Please forgive my less-than-epic chapter fail earlier, and the overly long Author's Notes. —Chris**

* * *

_Piers Nivans_

"Ow!"

This shit still hurt when they messed with my arm. Sparks flew up and down the tentacle—my arm was insanely sensitive to the antivirus. "There you go, Mr. Nivans. That's the last shot for today."

I let out the breath I'd been holding. "Thanks, Doctor." I said politely. After a week of getting needles stuck in my arm (and head, the first time they did it. Ow...) every day, my arm was looking noticeable different. For starters, it was definitely smaller. It was still electroreceptive. It was still more hefty, bulbous, and lumpy than an arm should be, but it was shrinking. It wasn't white so pink and green and whatever other colors it had been. In fact, I was thankful to be able to look in the mirror, and see that my arm was the _only_ thing off about me. My face and neck had both completely healed over, smooth and uninfected. In addition, my arm was now more...movable? I could move more of the muscles, I guess. The doctors had said that my nerves were starting to flesh out and realign the way they should be.

Also, I could still breath water through my skin, although it felt like it was getting harder. I tested that part every morning—makes waking up a lot easier. Now that we were on the ninth day of shots, the scientists felt like they knew enough about the antibodies in the blood sample from Jake Muller that they would be able to start administering it to other virus victims, with modifications.

The first few days, I asked them, maybe naively, why they didn't ust pump me full of enough of the cure to reverse the effects a lot faster. And of course, the answer I got was "Because that could cause damage to your systems." It didn't entirely satisfy me, but hey, I was happy to still be sane.

With that, the scientists left me to my own devices. I flexed the ends of my "hand". With delight, I noticed that some of the extra claws had shrunk into the flesh, and that I now had five, mostly distinct, appendages, nearly as flexible as my old fingers had been. And soon they would be. I smiled to myself, content for the moment. Then, I decided that maybe I shouldn't make such a big deal of it. It was still early, maybe I could catch Chris or someone else from the B.S.A.A. Who might be on break. I don't think Jill Valentine was. All my old buds were...well, dead. I hated that my only really close friend I had right now was Chris. No wonder Jake had made such a remark. I needed some new pals. I doubted I would really be able to pick up a girlfriend with my condition. Unless someone felt like dating me when my arm is a lightning rod.

Actually, I knew for a _fact_ there were some women out there that crazy.

The thought made me smile, but I wasn't pretending I was gonna go on a date anytime soon. And just because I was going to make some new friends didn't mean I would have to push Chris away to make room. The both of us had plenty of time, six months in fact and all day, everyday to lay on our asses if we felt like it. Well, most of the days, anyway. Chris still had some things to do from time to time, and soon it would be time to start my _regularly scheduled physical_ therapy. Which would probably be a pain in the ass to work into again, but I knew I'd need it—muscle is as hard to retain as it is to gain. Already, I felt in a little less firm on my abs, and hey, I was proud of my physique, I wanted to keep it up. I wanted to be back on the war on bioterrorism as soon as I could. I wanted to be sniping again as soon as I could. It was bad enough I had to wait six months. The last two months, I hear, is going to be training for B.O.W. combat again, thankfully.

I got up and decided to go for a walk to get some coffee. The North American B.S.A.A. is mostly a widespread chain of buildings hidden from the public—but they do own some typical "office" buildings. And one of them is a cafe, even though I prefer the bar across the street. I walked down the hallway and over to the lab dresser to pick out one of my new shirts. I had a new set I'd been given just today, and since my right arm was now small enough not to get in the way, it was pretty much a regular shirt, just with the right sleeves cut off. They'd been donated from a bunch of stores—which mas really thoughtful of them—and the fabric that was hemmed would be going to make bandages for the other soldiers that needed them. I opened the dresser and looked through them. A lot of them had wordings or logos on them.

"I'm not here, leave a message." That one was funny, but too sarcastic.

"I'm going viral." While true, that one was a little...daunting.

"I'm a Pepper.", a Dr. Pepper shirt.

Holy crap, was this one custom? I took a closer look. It looked like it was made by a bunch of small, multicolored patches sewn together, not badly either. There was writing on a few of them. It said:

_** Fuck Death,**_

_**I'm Piers Nivans !**_

Yep, there was a note attached. _"Dear Piers, this is from people who wanted to cheer you up while you are recovering. The text and patches were all donated by people wishing you well. You and Chris Redfield are the only two to receive these. The wording is a little vulgar, but I guess they thought it was appropriate, considering what you've been through. If these things ever become marketable, let me know :) —Leon Kennedy and Sherry Birkin_

I was getting an incredibly warm feeling inside. It was good to know that people who didn't know me cared about me enough to sew the words "Fuck Death" onto a shirt for me. The left _and_ right sleeves on this one were hemmed. I tried to slip it on, and when that didn't work out, one of the laboratory officers took pity on me and helped me out. The fabric was smooth, silky, and fitting. I admired the wording in the mirror one last time, and when I resolved that people staring could get over it, I made the trip down to the lounge.

Sure enough, I was getting looks. Most of them were smiles, though, and a few people walked up to me shook my (left) hand. Once I got down to the coffee tables, it occurred to me that I still hadn't been able to prepare food, eat, or drink without help yet. I gulped. Coming down here with a shirt like this and then needing help pouring a latte would be so humiliating! I looked around. People had already stopped looking at me now. I swallowed my thoughts, then walked up to the coffee machine. I thought about doing it with my left hand, then my right, then settled on both. I tried to punch the buttons on the coffee maker with my right hand—yes! The fingers were smaller and mobile enough now! I made the coffee, waited a few minutes, then pulled it out and poured it with my left hand. I'd been doing excercises with it every so often, but it still felt clunkier than my right. And since I didn't trust my claws to handle the porcelain mug, I was careful with my left hand. I carried it over to a table and sat down. I took a sip, and it definitely needed creamer. I ignored it, because I didn't really feel like messing with the tiny little packets right now.

"Oh, hey Piers!" I heard. I turned around, nearly spilling the coffee, to see Chris walking up to me. "Mind if I sit...ah, mind if I sit here?" I could see him eyeing my shirt.

"Go right ahead." I said, and he sat opposite me. "Nice shirt, can I see what it says?" I slid my chair away from the table and leaned back so he could read. "Damn, that's something...where did you get a shirt like that?"

"Huh?" I said. "Didn't you get one too?" I asked.

Chris looked confused. "Not that I'm aware of. They might've sent it to my quarters, I'll check later. That is some shirt."

"Thanks." I said proudly, lifting it from my chest and staring at the words upside-down. "Donated. People really want me back on my feet." I said, letting it snap back to my skin. Chris raised an eyebrow. "And you'll get there in a flash, I know it, Piers. Been hitting the gym lately?"

I sipped my coffee. "A little. Damn, that's bitter."

"Good, get back in the fight that much quicker." Chris smiled, reaching over to tearing open the a packet of sugar open and pouring it in. I sipped it again—much better. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Chris got up to get a muffin, then sat back down. We were quiet for a while as we sipped and ate. "Hey Piers?"

"Mmm?"

"You remember that crazy Ada Wong bitch?" Chris said. Anger flooded me as I remembered how many of our friends had died and been mutated because of her. "What about her?" I said, gritting my teeth.

"That wasn't Ada Wong."

I set my coffee down. "What do you mean, 'that wasn't Ada Wong'?"

Chris finished off his muffin and told me the story.

* * *

"Daaaaamn. Are you sure I'm supposed to believe this?" I asked. Chris slid a folder my way across the table. I opened it up. Inside were a lot of X-rays and virus details, and a lot of stuff I wasn't about to try to decipher right now, but when I looked closely, it was all there. The woman who had killed our friends was Carla Radames. And apparently, she was dead twice over.

"Wow...this is pretty unbelievable."

"Yep. But the real Ada is here now, and she wants to speak with you."

"You're fucking with me." I said.

"Nope. She's waiting outside. Can I trust you to talk to her peacefully while I go back to my quarters for a minute?"

I shrugged. "I guess so. If she does try anything, I'll blast her a new ass." I said, grinning and flexing electricity up my arm. Chris grinned at that and walked out. As he went out the door, a woman walked in. She looked exactly like Ada—wait, Carla had. She was wearing a red button-down suit. She walked up to the table and sat down opposite me. "Hi, I'm Ada Wong. The real Ada Wong, that is."

"Nice to meet you, I think." She held out her left hand, and I shook it. "I'm sorry to see that your arm is in such a state. I suppose it was worse before?"

"Yeah, it was. Can I help you with anything?" I said curtly, hoping to get right down to whatever she came here for. "Well, I came to apologize." she said.

"Apologize for what? I thought a woman named Carla Radames was the one that was giving us hell."

"She was, but Carla's existence as a copy of me, the C-Virus, your friends, your current state..." A pained look came across her face. "It was all my fault, indirectly. I'm an agent, you see, and for the past few years now, I've been jumping back and forth around this war. I even pretended to serve Albert Wesker for some time in Spain."

My eyebrow jumped. "Really now? A lot of people would be interested to hear that."

"Yes, well, you'll be happy to know I betrayed him, successfully. I even took out one of his double agents, Jack Krauser." she said with a small smile on her face. "The thing is, I was trying to spy on the work of Derek C. Simmons, a man responsible for major viral outbreaks, and he and I were in somewhat of a relationship. Apparently, I'm such an amazing woman, that me leaving drove him a bit nuts."

I nodded. This story was getting more unbelievable the more she told it, file or no file.

"So he, and his assistant, Carla Radames, tried to re-create me, using virus samples and innocent people. That's why the C-Virus and its offshoots exist, and why so many J'avo and Chrysalids have been tearing countries apart. Eventually, on around the 12,000th attempt, Derek used Carla as the test subject, and succeeded into making her a replica of me, shaping her mind even so she would believe she really was."

"Okay..."

"I hope you'll notice she wore a lot of blue." Ada said, resting her chin on her hand. "But the thing is, since I can't apologize to all the people that Carla has harmed, I decided to come apologize to you instead. If I had never gotten involved with Simmons, none of this would have happened. I'd never be the one to say this ordinarily, but Piers Nivans," she said, looking me in the eye, "I am as sorry as I could ever possibly be. If you feel like throwing me in jail, I won't stop you, or even try to escape. At least, not for a little while."

I looked at Ada. This was ridiculous. She was right, Lanshiang and so much else was her fault. I really, honestly wanted to lift my arm and fry her right now. "Finn, Andy, Ben, Alfonso...all those men are dead, because you got involved with some psycho virologist."

"Yes." Ada said.

I stared at her for a few more seconds. "Does Chris think we should beat the snot out of you, or what?"

"He said to ask you."

This surprised me. After a while, I settled on a decision. "Your ass is going to jail for life." I spat vindictively.

As Ada nodded and walked out, I remembered how Chris had been so bent on killing this woman when we had been in Lanshiang. Was I doing the same thing Chris was? Was I letting a vendetta get in the way of things?

* * *

"Check out my shirt! Damn it, Sheva!" he said, showing me the silk patchwork shirt.

_** I Punch Boulders !**_

"I asked her to stop telling everyone about that. They all think I'm on steroids or something." Chris said with a roll of his eyes. "Wow. Ouch. Still, nice shirt though."

We were sitting in my quarters in my bedroom. Chris slipped off the shirt he was wearing and put the boulder one on. When I looked at his back, I secretly thought that maybe Chris didn't do steroids, maybe steroids did Chris Redfield. I had to hold back a laugh. "You know," he said, sitting down on the bed, "I'm not gonna lie, I figured maybe you'd let that Ada woman go, what with the thing about...well, back in China..." he trailed off.

"We're not on a mission right now." I said flat-out. "Besides, if I'm making a mistake, hell, I'm not regretting it yet."

Chris looked surprised, but nodded. "Well, if you change your mind, I've already escorted her out. She'll face the Supreme Court here, and then go to the U.K. for her trial."

"I'll keep that in mind." I said.

"You wanna join me for some food?" Chris offered. Actually, as much as I had wanted to spend some time with Chris earlier, I wasn't feeling it right now. "Not really, no. Thanks, though." I said. Chris looked a little disheartened, but brightened up a little anyway. "You want me to bring you back some lunch, then?" he said. This wasn't a bad deal, so I said "That's nice of you, sure. Can you get me another one of those bacon sandwiches? That stuff is awesome." Chris laughed. "Sure. See you in about half an hour bud."

Then he left. I laid down on my sheets, still fully clothed. I felt tired again, which was absolute crap, since it was only 12:30. I was getting tired a lot lately. Oh yeah, I guess the doctors warned me about that. A little nap wouldn't hurt, Chris could wake me when he brought the food back...

* * *

_Hands. Hands ran up and over my body. One was a woman's hand, and bristled with barbs and spines. I felt lumps rise and my flesh rotting wherever it touched me. I shied away from it, but it grasped at my arm, clawing the virus into my skin. I ran, and tripped, falling off the ledge into darkness. I fell, and fell, and then slowed down, realizing I was sinking, and struggling for air. The water in front of me lit up with that face. Haos' face. The water demon grabbed me, and tried to crush me in its grasp._

_The scene changed. Haos was gone, and the water was a deep blueish green. I could see light up ahead. I swam to the surface and gasped. I pulled myself onto the shore, and my hands found metal. I looked up, and realized I was on the sinking sub from before. From last week.I briefly realized I wasn't wearing anything. I looked down at my arm, but it was normal, and healthy. I looked up. Chris was crouched over me. "About time you got here." he said. Then a light grew behind him, and he stepped back. Back into the shuttle._

"_Wait! Captain!" I yelled, but too late. Chris's form flew backward into the sea._

_The scene changed again._

_I was in a pool. I heard a splash behind me, but when I tried to turn around, firm hands grasped my waist and shoulder and kept me from doing so. A man's hands. They slid up and down my back, and around to my chest. "Easy there, Piers." the voice said, and I knew who it belonged to. I wasn't scared, though. This was how it was supposed to be. Chris whispered in my ear again. "We have a future with the B.S.A.A., Piers. But I'm laying down my gun soon. I can't be here with you forever." he said, trailing his tongue down my neck. I moaned and leaned back into him. Soon though, the hands disappeared, and I was floating away. I was sinking in the water again._

_Water. There was so much water..._

I jerked up. I yanked my sweat-soaked shirt off and stared at it.

**Fuck me, I'm Piers Nivans!**

Wait, what? I rubbed my eyes and looked again.

**Fuck Death, I'm Piers Nivans!**

Oh...right...of course. I sighed deeply and threw the shirt over into the hamper, sliding under my blankets. I looked over at my clock. I had been asleep for all of ten minutes. I flopped down onto my pillow and tuned sideways so my wood wasn't visible.

Maybe I did have feelings for Chris. If I did, I had hidden them better from myself than from anyone else. For the thousandth time, I thought of what Jake had said back at the pool: _I'm giving my blood to the man who's, well, all over him._ Damn, was it staring other people in the face?

I didn't have so much of a problem with potentially liking men, just that I didn't know how I was supposed to feel about it if I did. It didn't help that the only guy I could think of, duh, would be Chris Redfield. I had definitely never liked men, and if I did now, my boner and that dream were pointing straight at the man I served under.

This was so confusing. I didn't _want_ to have feelings for Chris, but the idea of trying to, I don't know, "get rid of them" seemed stupid. I wasn't even sure I actually had those feelings. This could totally be late morning wood.

But then Chris came back, holding a plate with a large BLT sandwich on it and a Sprite. The entire time we ate, Chris never questioned the fact that I was shirtless, never mentioned anything that seemed out of the ordinary. I chatted, and had a good time, and then told Chris I would rest for a while. He didn't have anything to do, so he promised he'd check up on me soon. Then he left.

I laid my head back down on my pillow and sighed.

This sucks.

* * *

**Auuugh, my fingers are sore. Did you enjoy that? Figured I should stop dicking around and make Piers' feelings active, dammit. I hope this chapter accomplishes something. Oh look, I finished 50 minutes before midnight. That beats my last record by half an hour. Yay. Oh God...progress! Here we go! Please be sure to tell me, if you feel like it, who's point of view you'd like to see from next. Thanks for reading, have a good one! —Chris**


	5. Snow Day

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 5: Snow Day**_

* * *

***Important note. All places and street names are made up. I have never been to Colorado.**

**Wow...so, self-criticising myself again, I realized that the Piers x Chris I laid onto the last chapter was, how do I say this? A little too much thicker than the more subtle Piers x Chris I've been trying to put into the chapters from up to that point. So if you picked up on that, kudos! On the other hand, after this chapter, I may not be able to upload a chapter every day anymore X_X sorry, consider these first five chapters my gift to you all. I hope I'll be able to work this out. I want Piers to be confused, but definitively in love with Chris. Like he should be. I do of course, mean Chris Redfield. And not me. I would never mean that to be me. You believe me, right?**

* * *

_Claire Redfield_

"Great! You got the shirt?" I said into the phone.

"I told Sheva to stop telling people about the boulder thing. We were in a serious situation with Wesker, and it had to be done."

"Doesn't make it any less funny."

"So when are you coming to visit me?"

"Chris, just because you're on break doesn't mean I am too."

"You can't go off to some zombie-infested city and fight without me. I'll go crazy worrying."

"You're just mad because you can't join me."

"Yes I can."

"What?" I said. "I thought they were making you take six months off?"

"Ha. I _chose_ to take the six months off. To look after Piers, remember?" Chris said. "So don't think I can't find out where you are, get there, and beat your ass for not listening to me." Chris said, laughing. "None of your little escapades, remember? There are men and women out there who will do it regardless. You aren't one of them, hear me?" Chris challenged.

"Sorry, whadja say?" I said, giggling, but deep down I knew I would have to listen to Chris. He was right, it would only be fair to stay safe while he was looking after his friend. Plus, he knew more about this war than I did.

"You heard me, you little smartass." Chris said, but I could hear him stifling a laugh too. "Stay where you are, unless it's to visit us."

"You really care about your friend, huh?" I said. Chris was silent for quite a while. After about ten seconds, he sighed, saying "Yeah, I do. He's one of the best friends I have. And even if he wasn't, I'd still stay. This is the _cure for the virus_, you understand that, don't you? This could potentially reverse all the damage done in the last fifteen years, with work."

"Yeah, I get that. I'll come visit you sometime, okay?"

"I'll be waiting." he said. "Bye Chris, love you. Stay well." I said.

"Love you too, Claire. Bye." he said, hanging up.

I took a deep breath. Well, no China aftermath scene for me. Now what was I gonna do?

* * *

_Chris Redfield_

I sighed and hung up the phone. I hoped Claire would listen to me and not go to China. I didn't know how much the infection there was still spreading. She could be stubborn before. But then again, so could I. I slipped off of the recliner and thought about checking up on Piers. _Actually,_ I thought, _I've seen Piers almost every day for the past two weeks. He may be just about sick of me._ I could always call him, I guess. He didn't have a cell phone yet though, so I was hinging on him being in his bedroom. I decided to give it a try.

I picked up and dialed the number on the notepad on my desk. After two rings, the phone was answered. "Hello?" Piers said. "Hey Piers, it's me."

His voice perked up. "Hey Captain—I mean, hi Chris. What's up?"

"Oh, not much. Just thought I'd call if you were in your room. Whatcha been up to?"

There was silence for a few seconds. "Um, not much." he said. "I've been resting a lot more than usual lately. I thought I'd come down and get a dose of some fresh air."

"Great. You want me to come with you? If I can, that is?"

"Sure! Just gimme a minute to get ready and I'll be down in a minute." he said. "Okay then."

With that, I set down my phone, got some warm clothes on, and set off for Piers' quarters. I walked through the B.S.A.A. hallways, and when I got to the end of Piers' designated area, he was waiting for me, wearing a red Dr. Pepper t-shirt and a long black sleeve over his left arm, and sweatpants. I looked him over quickly. "'I'm a Pepper'. Nice." I said with a grin, and he smirked. "It's cold out, Captain." I laughed at that, then noticed his arm. "Holy shit, Piers. That's some serious improvement."

Piers' right arm was now a lot smaller than it had been. There were no bumps or blisters. In fact, his arm looked a lot like a normal arm in shape. It was entirely grey now, with thick, leathery, shiny skin. It was very muscular, disproportionate to the rest of him, but not by as much as it had been. The hand was still overtly large, but there were four distinct fingers and a thumb now. "Yep. The doctors say I have to decide today whether I want them to modify the antivirus."

"What for?"

"They think they can make it where I can keep my bioelectric and aeroaquatic properties or whateverthehell."

We started walking through the corridors. "You think you want to?"

"Actually, no. I just wanna be back to my regular self. No fancy Zeus or Poseidon shit."

"I can understand that." We were at the lobby now. "It's pretty cold out there Doctor Pepper." I said with another grin. "Really, are you sure that's enough?"

"I'll be fine." he assured me. Then we walked out of the door.

There was a lot more snow on the ground than I remembered seeing. We trudged quickly through the pile blocking the entry doors, with Piers gesturing to the left, indicating he wanted to walk down Copper Street. I followed him quickly, shoving my hands in my jacket pockets. We were silent for a while.

"Piers, I'm really glad you're getting better. You just don't know."

"I'm glad too, Chris." he said quietly.

"You eager to get back in the field?"

"It'll be a great day when I do. You?"

"You know it." I said. We were silent again. I got the feeling that Piers really hadn't thought we needed to talk. I was kind of thinking the same thing. It was nice just to take a walk with my buddy, see him happy and healthy. I could see it starting to snow gently. I opened my mouth and, in a few seconds, felt a snowflake melt on my tongue. "You do that too, huh?" I heard Piers say. I turned to my left and saw his head tilted at me, a small smile playing at his mouth.

"Yeah, sometimes. You?" I said, mimicking his response to me.

"I used to, a few years back. But I haven't had much of a chance to fool around in the snow like I used to. I miss it." he said. I nodded. "You and me both."

We walked quietly for a little while longer. There were surprisingly few people on the street. After a short time, Piers slowed down, coming to a stop at a bench on the sidewalk. He sat down on one side and patted the seat next to him, offering it to me. I took it, sitting down beside him. He leaned back quietly, still not saying anything. I breathed in the cold, fresh, unpolluted air. "Feels like I should have a cigarette in my mouth."

"Feel better without it?"

"Yeah, actually."

"Captain?" Piers asked. "Mmm?" I said.

"Um..."

"What is it?"

"Well, it's just that...We've known each other a while now. And I was wondering..."

"Yeah?" I said. It felt like what Piers wanted to ask was important.

"...what do you want for Christmas?"

I sat there for a minute, surprised. For some reason, I hadn't thought that was what he'd been about to ask. "Wha-? Christmas?" I asked.

"Well, yeah." Piers said, looking away from me. "It's the middle of November." he said, a little defensively. "I thought I should think about it."

"Piers..." I replied, touched. "You don't have to—"

"I do! I mean, I want to."

"...Piers..."

"So? What do you want?"

"You really, really don't have to get me anything. It's okay, Piers I'm good to go."

"Well, I'm going to." he said firmly. He looked into my eyes. "It would be easier if you just told me." he said gently.

I turned away and reached into my shirt pocket for a pack of smokes, not finding any and being frustrated about it. "It's alright, really."

"It is not!"

"Piers, why don't we discuss this later? You being healthy again _is_ my Christmas present."

Piers stared straight at me for a second, clearly surprised. I realized I was surprised, too. Had I really just said that? I must seem clingy or something to him. "Sorry...I just meant that—"

"I know what you mean, Captain." Piers said. There was a look in his eyes I couldn't quite place. I hope it wasn't sadness. If it was sadness, I was going to kick myself. "Why...don't we go back to headquarters, Piers. If anything, now would be a great time to start decorating." I suggested.

"Well, it does sound like fun, decorating..._your FACE!"_

In an instant, I found I could no longer see, as a pile of snow had been flung straight at me face. I spat out sleet and water and wiped my eyes clear to find Piers grinning at me, his left hand the guilty one. "You little shit!" I said, laughing. "Come here!" I yelled, grabbing for him, but he was too quick for me. He danced off the bench, reached into the snow on the ground, and shoveled it at me. I raised my arms, covering them in powdery whiteness, and held back a fit of laughter. "You're gonna be eating that snow!"

"Let's hope I don't eat most of your meal then." he said, readying another snowball. I hid behind the bench, now laughing uncontrollably, and started hurling snowballs of my own. For the longest time, we took turns throwing snow at each other, with me taking shelter behind the bench, and him dodging freely. It continued like this until he had **_the fucking nerve _**to say "What's wrong, Captain? You never hide. And I don't think that thing is covering you too well."

I sprinted out from behind the wooden seat and launched myself at him. I tackled him onto the snow-covered ground, and started wrestling with him, trying to force his hands onto the ground next to his head. I held my feet on his knees so he couldn't roll over. It was a pretty even match. I knew I was pretty strong, but I knew Piers had strength that was almost as much, if not on par with my own. Especially with his mutated one. We kept pushing against each other, me baring my teeth, him just grinning, until my left hand slipped out from his right's grip and landed in the snow next to his face. I wobbled over him and tried to regain my balance, but before I could, I felt Piers' grey hand on my waist.

"_Yaaah!_" I yelped. I felt electricity surging up my spine, and smelled singed fabric. I rolled off of him and he immediately came to rest in a sitting position beside me. I went to my knees, teeth chattering, holding my side. "Damn, Piers."

"Sorry Chris." he said somberly. "Needed to get you off of me somehow. Did I hurt you?"

"No, I'll be fine."

"Good." I regretted saying those words, immediately finding snow in my face and spitting it out, true to Piers' threat from earlier. "Hahaha, gotcha good, didn't I?"

"You...sure...did..." I said, giggling uncontrollably. My sides hurt, more from the laughter than the pain. "Alright, I give, you win soldier."

"The Great Chris Redfield, surrendering defeat? That's a first."

"And a last." I said, glaring up at him, but still smiling. I got a punch on the arm for my determination. Piers adopted a ridiculous face and said "Ah, and ye shall rise through the ranks, and shall become, the most wondrous snowball-fighter the world has ever known—"

I fell down on the ground again, rolling over on my back, laughing. I couldn't stop, I was having such a good time. To my surprise, Piers laid down next to me in the snow. "Fun?"

"Yeah." I sat up suddenly. "I guess I have to ask you what you want for Christmas, too, huh?"

"Not telling you until you tell me."

"Come on."

"I asked first. It's fair."

I got up and dusted myself off. "Then I'm not telling. I guess you'll just have to surprise me." I said. He raised an eyebrow up at me. "Challenge accepted." he said with a smirk.

"Wipe that grin off your face."

"Try and make me." he said, the grin growing wider. I was tempted to, too. "Well, dammit, maybe some other time. I think it's about time for some coffee, or maybe some hot chocolate, don'tcha think?"

Piers smiled and got up. "Good plan."

* * *

Piers and I were sitting, bundled up in blankets, in front of the B.S.A.A. lab, watching the scientists do all their virological and research stuff. None of them really seemed to mind. I had a coffee, and Piers had hot chocolate. It wasn't the ideal holiday scene, but hey, maybe when the holidays finally did come around, a better one would be available.

I looked over at Piers, who was watching the scientists look at an X-ray of his brain, then his arm.

_He looked into my eyes. "It would be easier if you just told me."_

For a second, I wondered if I, Chris Redfield, were just a little bit **clueless**.

**~XOXO~**

* * *

**Wow...so what did you think I was going to say at the end there, huh? Bet I gave you a few surprises, huh? Well, this chapter was pretty much my idea of the ultimate fluff, I don't think I could write it any better than I have. I even set a new record for finishing and uploading this tonight. What did you think? Please, read, review, message me, give me your opinion! I love to hear it! Have a good Thanksgiving Break! —Chris**


	6. Holiday Spirit

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 6: Holiday Spirit**_

* * *

**Whew! Well, I said I probably wouldn't be able to upload a chapter per day anymore. Doesn't mean I'm not going to _try_. It's already 8:00 though, ugh...I CAN DO THIS! It's more to satisfy me than anyone else, though, although I do want to please my audience. I think it's about how far I can push myself—this isn't quite my limit yet. If I stop now, I will disappoint myself. So huzzah! Another chapter!**

**Btw, lol, most people don't seem to remember Ashley's age by the time RE6 is out. *snicker* —Chris**

* * *

_Piers Nivans_

While the doctors worked on me, I ran through my head everything that had happened yesterday. Chris and I had done a lot, said a lot...I couldn't recall the last time I'd had so much fun. While they were preparing the next antimutagen shot, I wondered how I really felt about Chris. Over the course of last night, I had already thought it over to hell and back, and still I wasn't much farther than I had been to begin with. However, there were definitely signs I was just not able to ignore:

I had had a dream, involving him and I in an erotic way, and had woken up from it with a serious boner. That one was the most uncomfortable to think about. Second, all of yesterday's talk had really awoken me to just how close Chris and I were. I felt stupid for not seeing it before, even if it _had _just been a sense of admiration and friendship before now. We were long since best friends, but things didn't seem to stop there. The last thing I was worried about was something I knew my real feelings might hinge on. It was the memory of the end of our mission involving Carla Radames, when I had infected myself to stay mobile. When Chris and I had finally met up again, he had been assuring and caring, as was his right, but...I couldn't shake the way he had put his arm around my head, and held me closer than normal. I had been injured at that time, so of course I hadn't noticed it in any peculiar way. But now that I looked back on it, it just seemed closer than a Captain and his marksman should be. And then...

And then when I said goodbye. I remember pushing Chris into the shuttle, and locking it with me on the outside. I had felt like, actually tried to cry. But the tears hadn't come. I had watched as Chris beat against the glass, and when I pressed the button that would send him off. I had stared straight into that pod, right into his broken eyes. I had watched as the shuttle was deployed, and had flown backwards, away from me. I had expected to die, or succumb to the virus's effects soon after. I hadn't been able to face the idea of losing my sanity and attacking him. Of not being me anymore...

And then, it wasn't that I had seen anything special between us that the best of friends couldn't see, it was just how I myself had felt when that shuttle deployed...it was hard to work out how I had felt. I hadn't been able to identify the feeling then, and I couldn't now. I might never be able to. I just didn't understand how a person could pay a psychologist, tell them all of their personal feelings and confusion about a person, and then the shrink just tells them that they either love the person or don't, or any of the other bullshit that they feed you, because they clearly cannot experience the same thing, no matter what kind of experiences they themselves have had.

A needle slipped into my grey, leathery arm now and they injected me with another antimutagen agent. At this point, I had decided on something that I thought was fair to anything my brain could give me at this point: **I did love Chris Redfield as a friend**. I had spent some time working out in my head what the meaning of _friendly love_was. And I think what I was feeling now definitely supported it. On the other hand, I still didn't know whether those feelings went deeper or not, into actual, romantic love. And it was too hard to figure out right now anyway.

"Okay, Mr. Nivans, this is it, you have to tell us now whether you want to keep your aquatic and bioelectric properties. There are three possible serums ready for production, and if you want them, we can make them."

I had my answer decided by now. "Thank you, but that won't be necessary."

The doctor sighed and motioned for the lady at the table to throw away whatever it was he was pointing at. "Well, if you're sure. I hope you've thought hard about this."

"I have." I assured him. "Very well then. It really is quite amazing, what this antimutagen's done for you, Mr. Nivans. In two weeks, you've reached a state we thought it would take you two months to get to." I felt a little surge of pride in my metabolism. "Have you been starting to exercise a bit more?"

"Yeah." I said. "And like you guys said, I was feeling tired more often than usual."

"Well, hopefully this next dose will see your body's energy usage return to a mostly normal, proportionate level." he said, slipping one more needle into my shoulder. I winced as I felt the pain return and flow down my arm and over my body, but less so than before. "Thanks doctor."

"You're very welcome." he said, making scribbles on his clipboard. "You're clear to go for today."

I got up, put on my shirt (they still had me take off my shirt every time I walked in for shots, even though my chest was now entirely uninfected. I pretend not to notice.) and walked out of the infirmary lab. After that, I settled on going to decorate my quarters, after I took some time to think. I started walking around headquarters, thoughts flowing through my head. I really, really wanted to get Chris something for _**Chris**t_mas, if only to do it as a bond between friends. Naturally, Christmas time being the season of _love_, and _friendship,_ and all that shit—sorry, stuff, well of course there were a dozen scenarios I could think of involving me finding out if Chris had any feeling towards me. While I walked, I thought of the things he'd said yesterday.

"_You being healthy again is my Christmas present."_

"_You little shit! Come here!"_

"_I guess you'll just have to surprise me."_

Well, I would rather think of more traditional gifts to get him than anything I could give that might surprise him. But...dammit, what would he like? If he would've just told me what he wanted...I guess I would really have to wow him. It wasn't enough for him to just get a present and like it, it wouldn't have been enough for anyone to—i put serious thought into my _**Chris**t_mas gifts, damn straight.

I walked up into my rooms. I didn't have anything to decorate with. I grabbed my wallet and walked right back out. And then I walked all the way down to the lobby. I thought about asking the guy at the reception table what he thought about decorating, but then realized since Chris and I had talked about it yesterday, it was pretty much automatically guaranteed. After all, Chris was the founder of the entire B.S.A.A., along with Jill Valentine. If he said I could, well, I could.

So I walked down the street, enjoying the air again, and deciding to jog it. Sure, people stared, but I didn't care any more than I had last time. I walked into WalMart, realizing with a grin that I was a war veteran—special discounts. I walked through the store, grabbing a handcart and exploring.

* * *

_Ashley Graham_

_Virginia, A. Graham Estate_

I tied my hair up into a ponytail and stuck a piece of holly onto the knot, then put on a skull cap and my red jacket. Gotta get into the spirit for Christmas. I walked around the house I had had for the past five years. Looking out the window, I saw the personal agents stationed at the gate, dutifully. I walked out onto the grounds and motioned for them to switch shifts and head inside. "I'll be back in about an hour. If I'm gone more than three hours, get worried." I said. The guards nodded.

With that, I texted my dad that I was going out for a walk and would be back safe at home soon enough. I walked out past the gates, thought about getting into my green SUV, then decided against it. I took a right down the sidewalk. After about a mile or two, I was in the suburbs. I continued walking around, thankful it was daylight and there were tons of people out in the open—rapists, thieves, and murderers tend to get bolder during the holiday season. I continued walking, not really aiming for anywhere in particular, just intending to look at whatever Christmas decorations were up. I wasn't disappointed either, I saw everything from Christmas Trees to light-up angels to gigantic snowmen. On a whim, I headed upstreet, where the festivity was most plentiful. It was nice to see some spirit in this place, with no one trying to eat someone else, or having their head burst open and a giant insect parasite come crawling out. Eventually, I decided to take the street where people were having a cookout. It was odd to see people grilling things in the winter. We didn't get snow down here in Virgina. It was sad, I had always wanted to see snow, but it hadn't been right weather-wise for the four years me and my family had stayed at the White House. Well, I had the money, so maybe I would go up to another state this Christmas and get to experience it sometime. After a few minutes of thinking about this, I simply dusted off a bench and sat down on it, wondering if I was actually planning on doing anything with my time. I don't usually take walks like this just for the fun of it.

I stared around me at the people walking up and down the street again. That's funny, I thought I could see...but no, it was just someone familiar. Unless...

"Leon?" I called out.

It was Leon! The man had long, dirty blonde hair and a dark brown jacket on. He turned around, looking for the source of the sound. After a few seconds, during which he looked right through me, he turned back around and continued walking. Well...that was not going to fly. I had an idea.

"_LEON! HELP!_" I cried out, just loud enough for him to hear me. He spun around, looking right at me. I nodded and waved. "...Ashley?" he called. "Yeah!" I said, walking over to him. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I live just down the street from here." I explained. "Are you on free time?"

"Well, uh, sort of. I don't have any assignments right now, as it is." he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "You look...different." he said.

"That happens to people within about five years." I said, laughing. "So do you." I said. Immediately, Leon raised a hand to his face. "I didn't mean older. Why, is that what you meant towards me?" I asked innocently. He hesitated. "Well, yeah, but..."

"But I sound just like I did all those years ago."

"Yeah." he agreed. "So what were you out here for?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I was just walking around, looking at the Christmas lights. You?"

"Pretty much the same." he said. "So..."

"I hope your work is going well?" I asked. "Yeah, pretty much. After China, well...ouch. I haven't been on a mission like that since Los Illuminados."

"I bet not." I said.

"So do you work? Or are you covered by the government?"

"All my expenses are seen after by government, seeing as I wsa kidnapped by zombie people back in 2004, but yeah, I work. I do a little accounting on the side, just to get out some." I said.

"Good to hear."

"Yep. Did you have to get back to something, or...?" I prompted. I didn't want to get in Leon's way.

"Actually, I did need to meet up and work through some files with Hunnigan..." he said, looking somber. "Of course. I won't keep you, you go ahead." I offered.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. It was nice seeing you again, Leon." I said.

"You too Ashley...er, Ms. Graham."

I giggled. "Just Ashley will do. Ciao."

"Bye." and then he walked off. I stared at his back for a while, then walked back to my house for something warm to whip up. I nodded again to the guards, motioning a shift switch, and walked into the dining room to make myself. It had been a nice surprise to see Leon Scott Kennedy like that. I felt a little bit lighter. Maybe it would happen again sometime.

* * *

_Chris Redfield_

I looked up to see Piers walking past with armfuls of red, white, and green loaded on him. "Spend a lot, huh?" He shrugged, or tried to, as his arms were full. "I guess."

"Anything in there for me?" I prompted. He just laughed. "Nice try, but no, not yet. If you don't believe me, you're more than welcome to come and deck the halls with me."

I smiled. "Sure. Don't tell me you actually bought lights?" I joked. "Yeah, I did, the bioelectric thingy will be leaving me soon." he said, a few sparks drifting lazily from his arm as he said it. "You sure?" I asked. "Yeah, another week or two, and I'll be back to normal, maybe a little more work on the arm."

"Nice!" I crowed. "You sure made short work of that virus."

"Still am. The arm will take about a month to heal completely before the virus is gone for good. Just in time for December." he said. "Now isn't that a happy coincidence?" I said. "I suppose it is. Come on over and help me with these." he said. I got up and reached over, hefting a few of the boxes out of his hands. Then we walked over to his quarters, and just started decorating. Piers had bought a very large number of lights, actually, along with a big white tree and several wreaths, tablemats, pretty much everything you could use to make a place Christmas-ey.

"You really went all out with this stuff." I admired when we finished putting up the tree in his living room. "Yeah, well...just getting into the spirit." he said, laughing. We finished it up, then started on the lights. There were so many lights. "So have you talked to Jill lately?" he said all of a sudden. It was a very random question to ask. "Not a lot, no." I said, hanging tinsel on the chairs.

"You and her get along well, though, right?"

"I guess. She's been with me for a long time."

"I don't supposed you two are a, uh, an item?" he asked.

"What? No, why did you think that?" I responded, turning around to face him. He, on the other hand, was facing the wall, hanging up blue candles. "Well, most people seem to think you are." he said.

"They...they do, huh?" I asked, thinking. It was true Jill and I were very close...

"Yeah. I was sure of it when I first got into the B.S.A.A., and so was everyone else. You sure you aren't with her?"

"Well..."

"What?" he asked, turning around to me.

I decided to be honest. "I think Jill wants us to be, but...she's always seemed like more of a second sister to me." I explained. "

"That's cool." Piers said after a few seconds. "I'm sorry, is it complicated?"

"Not most of the time, no. But...it's not something I like to talk about."

"Right, my bad." Piers said apologetically. We continued hanging up decorations and generally making Piers' living space cozy for a while in silence. "I'm sorry if I was prying, Chris." Piers said.

"It's okay. Jill and I are great friends, and always will be. Same with you and me." I said, but I felt even more awkward after saying it. It was like I always screwed up when I tried to say nice things. Luckily, Piers didn't seem to notice.

In time, we finished the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom, and everything we could possible improve. When the angel was finally on top of the Christmas tree, Piers flopped down on his couch. "Thanks for the help."

"Anytime, bud."

"Got any place to go?" he said.

"Not really, why?"

Piers smiled and offered the seat next to him. "I've got some movies, ya know, if you feel like watching any." he said. I hesitated a little. The last time I remembered doing that was with Claire and my family. Piers was being nice though, so I said, "Sure. Any classics?"

"I'm sure I can find some. If not, the remote's all yours."

"Thanks." I had to admit, even though I missed my family, especially Claire, it was nice to have someone to do this with. I resolved not to get overly emotional when I dug out an old classic Christmas film. I slid it into the DVD player and flopped down next to Piers, who then jumped back up for snacks. When he got back, I dipped a graham cracker in my cocoa gratefully. This was actually a lot like it used to be. We turned off the lights and leaned back as the film came on.

Piers really was a great friend.

* * *

_Piers Nivans_

Over on the wall, the letters "_BSAA_" flashed in red and green lights. When I closed my eyes, though, they flashed _Piers_ and _Chris_. I was starting to think I really did have romantic feelings for my Captain at this point. I could feel sheer elation at having managed to get him to stay...for a movie. It wasn't a date, and I was sure I wasn't ready to even think about that yet, but it still felt good to have Chris here, like family.

Family that wasn't related to you, anyway. Augh, what did it matter. What did matter was that Christmas was upon me, and the only person I was buying for, at least actively, was Chris. And I still had no idea what I wanted to get him.

For a second, I wondered if maybe I could switch the cocoa out for some beer or alcohol, and get him to tell me what he wanted, but the thought fled as soon as it entered my head. Not only was that dishonest, it was just fucking rude. Plus, Chris was not a great guy to be with when he was drunk enough to let things slip past him. Nah, I'd just have to wait until he caved and told me, or I would have to think of a great gift myself.

I looked over at Chris, whose eyes were firmly on the movie, and whose hands were clutching his cocoa. For a second, I tried to look at him and see something sexually appealing about him. At first, I thought it wasn't working, but then I had to close my legs. Yep, I was into my captain.

I also wondered if he was really intent on getting me something for Christmas. It wasn't necessary, or any sory of hinge, of course, but it felt nice that he had offered, or would even really think about it. He really was an incredibly selfless person, when it came down to it. _What do you think I want for Christmas, Chris Redfield?_ I thought.

Meanwhile, I had exactly what I wanted. Smiling to myself, I sipped my cocoa and leaned back into the sofa, thinking only of Chris.

**~XOXO~**

**Wow...this is way too romantic. I have to stop with this. But argh, I'm running out of casual situations to introduce! I may have fixed Piers' arm way too fast, now that I think about it. You'll notice I tried to cover for that in this chapter. It still doesn't fix this. X[ Now that I think about it, Ashley's scene was a little rushed, ugh. Well, we'll see how it goes. After Christmas is over, this super hyped romanticism will have to stop. (Christmas real time, not in the story. I have much planned for the story by the time Christmas rolls around, muahahaha!)**


	7. Blackout

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 7: Black Out**_

* * *

**Well...here we are...Chapter 7...*gulp* I can do this. I realized I rushed Ashley in that last chapter, for which I'm sorry, but I have something seriously planned for Christmastime. Let me tell you my possible plan for Regeneration: From this point on, each chapter would take one day to make and upload, and one day would span each. No, there probably will not be 40 more chapters by Christmas day. I will play this out bit by bit. The Christmas portion of the story will have passed long before December 25th, but no matter.**

**Don't worry, I didn't forget about Piers and Chris and their special awards. And for anyone who cares, I do plan on giving you a very merry _Resident Evil: Regeneration Piers x Chris Christmas Day!_ I hope it is appreciated!**

**Warning: Math Ahead!**

* * *

November 17, 2013: 40 days until Christmas

_Chris Redfield_

"Nnngh..."

I got up quietly, rubbing my eyes. I let my eyes adjust to the darkness, then looked around. It was dark, and seemed to be nighttime. The movie was at the main main menu—we must have fallen asleep while watching it. Speaking of "we", I recognized the leathery, slick feeling underneath me as Piers' arm. I looked to my left, and he was laying there underneath me, breathing quietly, eyes closed. I had fallen asleep slumped over him. I hastily, but carefully, lifted myself up off of him. Rubbing sand out of my eyes, I looked out the window. It was coated in snow, and I could see the glow of a streetlight outside.

"Hurh..." Piers grunted and turned on his side beneath me.

I could probably sneak out from off of his legs and out of his quarters without him hearing me...but wait, there was an alarm on the door. There was no way I could leave without him waking up. On the other hand, if I could manage to get off the couch without waking him, I could take him back to his room and sleep out here on the couch. Would that work? I shifted myself slightly, but Piers turned again and his arm moved. Maybe it would just be better to wake him, period. I looked over at the clock on the wall. If I was right, then it was about 2:30 A.M. In the morning. We had started watching the movie at about 5. So that meant that, minus the hour or so I'd been watching, we had been asleep, or at least I had, for about 8 and a half hours. That explained why I was waking up at this time. Yeah, I should probably just get Piers up, he looked close to waking up anyway.

"Piers..." I said, shaking him lightly. He didn't respond immediately, but turned over on his back. "Piers." I said again, shaking him a little rougher. Piers shoved my hand away from him and opened his eyes. "Cuh...Cuhhh...Chriiissss?" he said, yawning. "Yeah, sorry for waking you up, buddy." "What time is it?" he said groggily.

"About 2:30."

"A.M.?"

"Yeah."

"Dammit..." he rubbed his own eyes and I slid off of his feet. "Did we seriously fall asleep through that?!" he asked, more awake. "Are you planning on heading out?" You can stay here if you want." he said.

"You feel like sleeping some more?" I asked.

"Well, not really. It wasn't smart to fall asleep so early."

"Guess I picked a pretty bad choice of movie, huh?" I said apologetically.

"Yeah!" he said, laughing. "So you feel like staying up, too?"

"Sure." I said. I reached over and clicked on the lamp, but turned it right back off. "Ow, sorry..."

"Not a problem. I can go make us something to eat or drink if you want."

"That's okay, I'll do without. Hey, you know what I just realized?"

"What?"

"It's the morning of November 17th, which puts us at 40 days until Christmas. And I'm 40 years old."

"Nice coincidence."

I poked him in the ribs. "40 is God's magic number."

"Didn't know you believed in God."

That put me off. "Well, do you?"

"Yes."

"Okay...I know I'm not very godly and all that. It's not as if there's time for church."

"Nobody blames you, Captain. Ah, Chris, I mean."

"Right." I said, wondering what else to talk about next. "So...you, uh, sleep well?" I asked.

Piers closed his eyes and smiled. "Yeah." he said. "Really well."

"Good."

"You?"

I was glad it was dark, because I was blushing remembering how I'd fallen asleep on top of him."I guess."

"No bad dreams, right?"

"Nah." I said.

"Good." he repeated after me. We were silent for a while.

"So do you think—" but Piers never finished the question, because the light from the television went out. The streetlamp went out, too. "What was that?" Piers' voice said, edgy. "I think the power just went out over this street."

"Don't like it when that happens, makes me jump outta my skin. Feels like we're under attack again."

"Don't you wish we were?"

"Sometimes." Piers admitted. "But not when I'm sitting on my couch."

"Haha, of course not." I said. "Damn, it's dark."

"Can you see my face?"

"No, not really. How far is it from mine?"

"Can't tell, last time I checked it was about a foot or two from yours."

"Ouch!"

"What happened?"

"Nothing, just hit the coffee table with my foot."

"Smooth."

"Give me a break." I said, rolling my eyes, as if he could see them.

"You sure we shouldn't make sure this isn't a terrorist attack? You're the founder of this place, it's expected."

I jumped up, hitting my knee on the coffeetable this time. "_Shit! I forgot!_" I said, heading for the door.

"Call first."

"Can I borrow your phone?"

"Don't you have a cell?"

"Right!" I said, smacking myself in the forehead. I yanked it out of my pocket and dialed the lobby. "Hello? Hello?" I yelped into the phone.

"Mr. Redfield? What's going on?"

"Hurry, I need to know if this is a terrorist attack!" I said frantically.

"Calm down, Captain, the power just went out on the block."

"_Are you sure?_ I mean, are you _absolutely sure?!_"

"Yes, they were talking about it on the news, would you like to come down and put it over the intercom?" I looked over at where I figured Piers was. "Just put the phone next to the intercom and press the button, and one more time, are you sure?"

"_Yes_, now get ready to speak, I'm putting you on the system."

I readied my best "Don't-worry-everything's-fine-but-I'm-still-being-official" voice. Suddenly, red lights flickered on over my head. "I can't keep these on forever, so make sure to mention that we'll be turning it off." the man said. I cleared my thoat.

"Officers, men, women, there's been a blackout over the block, so please don't panic. There's no terrorist attack going on, you can get back to sleep or work. The lights are running on a separate generator, so they'll be turned off to conserve what we have. Please excuse any disturbances. Thank you, that's all."

I heard a beep as the intercom went off. A few seconds later, the red lights went out and I lost vision again. "Anything else, Captain Redfield?"

"No, no, that's okay. Just...keep doing your job. Sorry for the disturbance."

"Not a problem, sir." he said, and then hung up. "Never seen you do that kinda stuff before." Piers commented. "I never have." I said, feeling around for the couch. "I'm not an office worker type."

"You and me both." I heard him say from closeby. I decided I was close enough, and gently sat down, a little closer to him than I had meant to. "Careful." he said.

"Sorry." I apologized. Suddenly, I felt him reaching over to his right with his left arm. "Yah, hey, watch it!" I said as he jabbed a finger into my ribs. "That's for earlier." he said. I thought about asking him to light up his arm, but figured that would make him self-concious. "So..."

"Sooooo..."

"Um..."

"...What do you wanna talk about?"

"I don't really know." I drew a blank. "There's no electricity...I don't suppose you have any flashlights or candles?" I asked. In response, Piers' arm lit up with electricity. His face looked bored. "Wow. You didn't need to do that."

"It's okay, it's no trouble."

"How long do you have before that goes away?"

"Likely until my arm is completely healed, but it's getting weaker. A few weeks ago, if you had asked me to blast a helicopter out of the sky, I could have done it. Now, I think maybe I could knock over a trash can or two."

"Water breathing?"

"Gone."

"Ouch."

"If you say so."

I leaned back into the couch. "I do not wanna think about trying to walk down through the halls when it's this fucking dark. I hate being stuck."

"I guess I could go get some board games."

"You have any?"

Piers looked like he was about to say yes, but then his face fell. "No. That was my old house, I keep forgetting I don't have a lot of my old stuff now."

"Wanna light up the...dammit." I slipped off. Piers laughed. "Not much to do."

"Damn right."

Piers slid up closer to me. "Captain?"

"Chris." I corrected automatically.

"Can I call you Captain just for right now?"

I blinked. "I guess."

Piers took a deep breath. "You...I always...The thing is...

* * *

_Piers Nivans_

"….I'm really glad we'll be spending Christmas together."

The words were heartfelt, but they weren't the words I'd meant to say. The light on my arm went out as I stopped the electrical flow. "What do you mean?"

Again, words came out of my mouth that weren't the ones I wanted to say. That were heading in the opposite direction of what I wanted to say. "Ever since I joined the B.S.A.A. ….and started serving under you..." I couldn't see his face, but I knew Chris was frowning. "...my life has changed for the better."

"You almost died. A lot. You got infected."

"Doesn't matter to me. I'm getting better. I'm doing, and soon will be doing again, what I've always wanted to do, with the legend of a man who started it all as my Captain. You're...my best friend Chris."

It was so true. Just still not true enough.

"...That means a lot, Piers."

"And," I said, screwing myself over again, "I would love it if your sister and your other friends came here for Christmas."

"Are you serious?!" Chris asked. I nodded, then remembered he couldn't see any better than I could. "Yeah, I am."

I don't even know why I added in that last part. Sure, it was nice of me, but wasn't alone time with **Chris** for **Chris**tmas what I'd wanted? I didn't even know anymore. For a few seconds, I struggled as to why I was so bent out of shape over this. Was I seriously full-blown in love with him? Was I sure of that?

Chris hugged me. I was sure.

I wrapped my arms around the bigger, thicker man. I could feel the muscles in his back against my hands, his chest against my own. My head was right next to his, we were almost cheek to cheek. I thought if I could just turn my head sideways a little, touch my lips to his neck, then maybe I could give him some small sign of my feelings for him. Maybe they'd be returned. Maybe they wouldn't. But it didn't matter, because after a few seconds, Chris slipped out of my arms. Worse, he rested his forehead against mine. "You're my best friend too, Piers. Forever and always."

Those last three words were just blows to my already sunken heart. I had failed. I had Chris with me, in the middle of a blackout, with nowhere to go, and nothing to do, the ultimate opportunity to tell him how I felt, and I'd blown it. And I was still blowing it, because I had already let the opportunity pass. I already knew I wouldn't be able to creat or take advantage of another one. At least not tonight.

Chris Redfield's arm around me made me feel like the happiest, and saddest man in the world. Between all the thoughts going through my head, I never really realized when I had fallen asleep. Neither Chris nor I would've been able to tell by sight anyway.

It was too dark.

**~XOXO~**

* * *

**Oh gosh...I'm running out of story element ideas. Plus I think I'm piling too much Chris and Piers on here. Maybe I need to introduce Leon or Jill into this. Ugh...Happy Thanksgiving break! Check out my profile and tell me what you think of the poll! —Chris**


	8. December Hits

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 8: December Hits**_

* * *

**I am so out of ideas. Hence, the major time skip. It'll probably be 9 in the evening by the time I really have any writing material (hence, why I started a smut fic of Wesker and Chris *wink*) and I'm starting to worry. There will probably have to be a few more chapters between now and the SPECIAL CHRISTMAS EPISODE I've been planning. Please, if you read this, go to my profile and answer the poll on what you think should be Piers' Christmas gift from Chris. Thank you so much everyone for the 2,000 views! —Chris**

**Note: All medals, ribbons, and awards mentioned are real. Whether applicable to a distinguished branch of the military like the B.S.A.A. Is, is debatable, though I'm pretty sure they are.**

* * *

_Leon S. Kennedy_

"Is that all of them?"

"Yes sir." I said, having just finished listing the late soldiers from Chris Refield's Edonia mission off of a sheet of paper.

"Now tell me how they died again?" the President said.

"Ben, Andy, Finn, and Alfonso were all attacked by Neo-Umbrella agent Carla Radames, mutated by the Chrysalid virus, and forced to be put down by officers Redfield and Nivans. Jeff, Keaton, Marco, and Reid were all attacked and killed by the Iluzija in Lanshiang, China, a massive snake infected by the C-Virus, also due to Carla Radames' actions."

"Carla Radames, she's the one who manufactured the C-Virus, right?"

"That's correct, sir." I replied.

"Damn." he said. "It's a shame that woman existed. So that's eight Purple Hearts we need for Alpha Team. I'll get a line to them, you can go now."

"Thank you, Mr. President." I said, walking out. Once I was outside the building, I dialed Helena's number. She picked up on the fourth ring. "Hello? Oh hey Leon."

"Hey Helena. Did you get those computers?"

"Yeah, yesterday, why?"

"Then why aren't you back yet?"

"It's December and I'm in Canada. Ever heard of that thing called 'snow'?"

"It's only December 1st..." I grumbled quietly.

"What did you need, anyway?"

"Are you going with us to Colorado for the award ceremony?"

"Uh, it's in about three weeks, right?"

"Right. You know the date."

"I'll be back long before then, but am I invited? I mean, they might want a private moment for..."

"The Purple Hearts, yeah."

"Say, lemme ask something."

"Hmm?"

"How many soldiers are getting Purple Hearts at this ceremony?"

"The B.S.A.A. Alpha Team's deceased. Eight of them."

"So what about the other B.S.A.A. Soldiers that died? I know there were more than that."

"They were recognized previously. We didn't have a chance to recognize the Alpha Team's deceased because..."

"Tall Oaks."

"Yeah...the president and all that."

Silence. "Okay...so, uh, how is Piers Nivans coming along?"

"How should I know?"

"He's the only cured victim of the C-Virus. You work for the president, dammit, maybe you should check into these things?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll look in a minute."

"You're being pretty callous."

"Sorry." I apologized. "Just been kinda slow lately."

"I'm sure."

"But hey, guess who I ran into last week?"

"Who?"

"Ashley Graham."

"Former President Graham's daughter, right? The one you rescued from those psychotic Plaga people in Spain?"

"That's the one. She wants to come to the ceremony."

"You sure you want that to happen? Lemme just give you a reminder: _LEON! HELP!_"

"Very funny." I said sarcastically. "She said the same thing just to psych me out. And even if I didn't want her to come, we have to. As a former President's relative, she's entitled to it."

"If you say so."

"President says so."

"So you just wanted to ask me if I was coming?" Helena asked.

"Pretty much."

"Dull." Helena commented. "Well, see you in a few days, Leon."

"Ciao." I said, closing the phone. Then I dialed Ashley's number.

"Hello?" I heard.

"Ashley, it's me. Leon Kennedy."

"Oh, hey Leon. Is there something I can help you with?"

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, the office is closed." I heard the sound of something being sipped. "So?"

"There are eight purple hearts to be awarded, a **Silver Star each** to **Redfield and Nivans**, a **Distinguished Service Medal each**, a **Legion of Merit each**, a **Meritorious Service Medal each**, a **Soldier's Medal for Nivans**, and a **Distinguished Marksman Medal for Nivans**."

"That's a lot of medals." Ashley commented simply. "Yeah, can't say they don't deserve it." I said.

"You gotten any medals lately?"

"Back in November." I said, trying not to let my pride show through. "A Distinguished Service Medal and a Soldier's Medal."

"Very nice. Are you on a break? I don't want to interrupt you either?"

"The President just dismissed me." I said.

"Great! Than you can come over to my place for a while! And you have to come this time because you just said you've been dismissed!" Ashley said, laughing. Inside, I was groaning. "Actually—"

"I live on Sandler Street, big white house with the rose garden. You can't miss it. See you in twenty!" She giggled. Then she hung up.

"Dammit..." I murmured. I inboxed Hunnigan telling her I would be occupied for tonight unless called into action. Then I set off to revisit 2004.

* * *

_Piers Nivans_

I got called into the laboratory early today. I didn't know why, so I assumed it was to tell me something about the C-Virus or my arm. Since late November, the disinfection had slowed down a little, as my arm was still big and grey. The bioelectric properties were all but gone now.*****On the other hand, the little claw things on the ends of my fingers were also gone, so working machinery and coffee cups was a lot easier now. Guns, still no go, and not for lack of trying.

I walked down to the Infirm Lab. I went and sat on the little green table like they usually have me do. I wasn't required to take off my shirt today, which I was thankful for. The doctors came over and started checking me out, then giving me injections. After about three shots of the Muller Cure, as they called it, they said that was all the work they needed to do on me today.

"What? So why did you call me over here so early?"

"Because we wanted to discuss your virus and how you are recuperating." Ciara said. "How would you say you're coming along?"

"Great!" I said brightly. "I feel like I'll be back to normal by around January."

"Which is excellent progress." The two said.

"So what about it? Are they going to let me back into the field soon?"

"As a matter of fact," Dr. Sellers said, "Yes. Your mandatory leave, in light of your miraculous recovery, has been reduced from six months to three."

"_Yes!_ Are you serious?!" I asked.

"We are very serious." Ciara said with a wry smile. "You should be able to get back into action under Captain Redfield within those three months. However, you're required to ramp up your exercise considerably—at least double, in order to make up for lost time and be ready for field training in conjunction."

"I'll do it! Whatever it takes!" I said excitedly. Dr. Sellers smiled. "Merry Christmas. Just don't let us down. And don't go getting injured the way you did again. It wouldn't be helpful."

"Cross my heart." I promised. "Good. Than if you're sure about your status, you can go tell everyone the news."

"Thanks doctors!" I said, hugging them both and running back to my room to start excercising and calling everyone. This was awesome news!

**~XOXO~**

* * *

**Yeah, subpar chapter, I know. I probably would have had more patience and time for this chapter if I hadn't been running around all day, but it'll be alright! I'll just double my output tomorrow! Haha.**

***Morriganna, don't worry, I didn't forget my promise. The bioelectricity needed to be mentioned.**


	9. Shock

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 9: Shock**_

* * *

**Okay, so here we are. Morriganna, I know I promised you, and I'm sticking to it, but the sad thing is, it seems someone had THAT idea before I did. I'll still write it, but hopefully nobody will think I ripped them off due to a similar idea. Actually, it seems a lot of Piers x Chris stories share a similar theme with this one, for example, virus recovery and Christmas. So from here on out, it is my sworn duty to make this story as unique as possible. Enjoy!**

**And Spicers Apple. Yes, you. You are in trouble for figuring out this chapter before I even put it up. So this is payback! —Chris**

* * *

_Leon Kennedy_

I was sitting at an oak table in a rather comfortable chair, across from Ashley Graham, who was wearing a blue shirt and had her hair, which was much longer than I remember it, down to her elbows, I think, in a ponytail. There was a plate of steak in front of me, and pork chops in front of her. It was all very cozy.

"So how has President Cole been treating you?" she asked.

"Cautiously." I said. "He's aware of what happened in Tall Oaks, and that I was involved in it."

"Surely he doesn't think you had any part in it?"

"No." I said carefully. I didn't think I wanted to discuss Helena and Ada and Tall Oaks and President Bendord with Ashley. Or anyone, for that matter.

"Good, I would hope nobody would distrust someone in a manner like that. So why is he 'cautious' about you?"

"Honestly?" I said, chewing my steak. "I think I intimidate him."

"Get out of here! The President is intimidated by you? He doesn't think you're a jinxed employee, does he?" Ashley said, laughing. "I wouldn't put it past him." I said, a smile growing on my face. "Sometimes I wonder if that's a fact."

Ashley had to stop eating for a second to calm her laughter. "Okay, okay, so I'm glad your work is going well."

"Thank you." I said politely. "And yours?"

"Thankfully, _some_ people come to the bank in the winter. We were closed for about a week until people were just about kicking down the doors. So we finally let them in and started paying for extra heating."

"Great." I said. "You like your job?"

"Very much. Most people never realized it, but I have a real head for numbers."

"Always good." I said. "No one's tried to kidnap you or infect you in the past few years, right?"

"No, but a few guys _did_ mistake me for someone a little less helpless." She said, a grin growing on her face. I was horrified. "Someone—some guy tried to...to _rape_ you?"

"No no, Leon," she said hurriedly "I just meant that they tried some pretty cheap pickups on me. And since 2004, I've heightened my standards a bit." She said.

"Ah. Almost scared me for a sec there."

"Believe me, if I'd been attacked, you'd have heard about it. I'm covered by Secret Service agents, as you noticed. I even thought about bringing on your friend Helena. Plus, Dad insisted I take about a dozen self-defense classes."

"Seriously?"

"Yep." Ashley said, chewing her pork. "I'm always ready for sexy Spanish men to kidnap me at all times." she said. I burst out laughing, almost choking on my steak. "Easy there, Leon." she said.

This was turning out to be a pretty nice time.

* * *

_Piers Nivans_

_Water was everywhere. It was all around me, drowning me. I wanted to die, but couldn't. All I could do was sit there, floating along, while my lungs screamed and begged for oxygen. I struggled, looking for light, for the surface, but everywhere was dark. Then the dark blue turned to black._

_Slowly, my lungs stopped screaming. I opened my mouth, but still saw nothing around me. After a while, the complete nothingness started to get disorienting. I couldn't tell which was was left, right, back, forward, up, down, diagonal...what was I even standing on? I looked around me, finally spotting something of substance. It was a mirror, about twelve feet away...maybe? I couldn't judge distance anymore. I walked toward it, my feet thankfully finding solid ground. When I was in front of it, I stared into it curiously._

_The face on the other side was me...and also not me. The right half looked like me...but the left half looked like Chris. It was strange, seeing our two faces melded together like that. As I peered into it, the face changed. The right half grew gray, and green, and infected. The right eye went milky white and blind. As I watched, the infection halted at the midpoint of my...his...our face. Then, it slowly started to spread. The face in the mirror began to shed tears as the part of me that was Chris was overcome, and infected._

_Then the face changed again. It was neither mine, nor Chris's. It was...white, and strange. At first there was only a head, with no distinct face. But then, a muscled torso, with strange, mutated arms began to show through. Weird...it looked like the arms were made our of human torsos...that would explain the four different forearms and hands I was seeing. The head, which was closer to the mirror than mine, suddenly burst into a rage, and the face showed through. It was a skull-like face, determined to rip me apart or eat me. It was **Haos**. It was **Chaos**._

_Haos began to grab and claw at the edges of the mirror, trying to get to my side...wait, it wasn't a mirror, it was glass. And the blackness around me was gone, to be replaced by...by the inside of a shuttle. The shuttle I had launched Chris on. **This was what Chris had seen just after I'd said goodbye. Just before I'd died. **_

_**And then, blinding whiteness. I didn't know why or how, but everything was gone, and I was in pain. Terrible, blinding, surging pain. I could feel my body vibrating from the shock, the electricity flowing through my body. I opened my eyes, but still couldn't see. The pain was killing me.**_

I flew up out of bed, the pain forcing my back into an arch. I struggled with my sheets, screaming bloody murder, and probably swear words. It didn't matter, I just wanted the pain to stop. Before I could figure out which direction was where, I had fallen off of the bed, hitting my head hard on the bedside table. The pain stopped, if only for an instant, but then came back.

I wanted to scream for help, for someone to knock me out. I cradled my arm, knowing that was where the pain was coming from. With what I could muster, my vision flickering between whiteness and the floor of my room, I forced myself to stand. Immediately, the pain grew more pronounced in my legs. It was worse than any muscle spasm I'd ever had. I reached around blindly, trying to find the phone. I grabbed it off the receiver with my left hand, punching my speed dial for the one person who might could help me to the doctor at this hour. The phone emitted sparks from the cord and the sound holes, and the ringing was skewed and haywire.

Then, a respite. I knew I only had a few more seconds before the next attack, and I was grateful to hear the phone pick up. Hearing Chris say "Piers?" kept me standing.

"C-C-Chr, Ch-Chriss..." I mustered, my jaw shuddering and preventing me from forming words. I tried to say "Help!", but it wouldn't come. "H-H-h, h-h-h-, hhhnnn, hnnggg..."

"Piers? Buddy, what's the matter? Fuck, man, do you need me to come up there?"

Then my arm exploded in white sparks. Electricity, combined with the burning pain, returned. I collapsed, screaming. I couldn't tell if the phone was still working.

"Piers? _Piers?! PIERS, ANSWER ME!"_

* * *

_Chris Redfield_

It took way too long to get to Piers' quarters. By the time I got there, I was ready to kick the door in, and that's exactly what happened. I ran through to Piers' bedroom, and what I saw shocked me.

Piers was curled up, naked, next to his bed, sheets tangled around him and twitching. The phone was dangling, dead, from the bedside table. I could smell smoke, and saw that not only was Piers' hair singed, the rest of his body had smoke curling up from it. And his arm...his arm hadn't looked like that the last time I'd seen it. In fact, that was about what it had looked like weeks ago. "Piers?!" I said, kneeling next to him. He didn't answer.

"Piers, I'm gonna get you to the infirmary, okay?" I said, reaching over to pick him up. I withdrew my arm sharply, having been zapped. I got over it, and forced myself to pick him up. It hurt, but I got past that.

Piers needed medical attention _**now**_.

* * *

_Piers Nivans_

I woke up feeling warm. Opening my eyes, I realized I was laying on my back, looking up. I winced from the bright light overhead, and tried to sit up, but that hurt like hell. "Easy there, Piers." I heard, a hand pushing me back down. I looked over to see that both the arm and voice belonged to Chris Redfield. "C-Chris?" I asked weakly. Suddenly, I realized I was still mostly naked; the only thing covering me was a thick red cloth attached to the bed I was on from the waist down. I felt self-conscious and looked away from him.

"What the hell happened to me?" I asked. "Your guess is as good as mine." I heard Chris say. "I got your call, and you started yelling, and I rushed over there...you looked pretty bad."

I raised my hand to my hair. Dammit. I could feel my hair, still in a forward spike, but singed and burned. "Fuck..." I whispered under my breath. As I took my hand away from my hair, I noticed which hand it was. Then I noticed what was wrong with it. I sat up again, and yelped. "How did it get like that?! It wasn't like this before!"

My right arm was a mimic of what it had been back in early November, maybe even October. Green, bulging, tentacle claws where my hand was supposed to be. I could feel the electricity flowing up and down it again. As I looked at it, I felt a pang of not only horror, but disappointment. All the recovery progress I had made over the past month, wiped out in a single night.

"The doctors say it's the virus again." I heard a female voice on my left say. I turned in that direction, being greeted with the sight of Jill Valentine, the other co-founder of the B.S.A.A. "Jill?" I asked.

"Yep. They say the virus came back, stronger than before. They've been pumping the antivirus into you for a while, but it's not working like it used to. They think it must have adapted."

"Wha—but...but, they'll be able to fix it, right?" I asked desperately, cradling my right arm. Jill nodded. "They say it'll take time, but with work, they can adapt the cure as well and counteract this."

I looked down. A doctor came bustling over. "And we'll need to keep you here through the night, _at least_. That virus came back far more dangerously than we could have expected."

"We _should_ have expected something like this." one of the nurses commented. "You almost went into shock for a while. It's a wonder that electrical surge didn't kill you. We're still trying to find out what caused the attack from your arm." she said mournfully.

"If this happens again, then we may not be able to manufacture an all-round cure any quicker. You know that right?" Jill reminded the two. They nodded solemnly. "We'll work 24/7 if we have to, Miss Valentine." the lady said, then they both rushed off. "Piers, I have to go now, but we're gonna keep working until you're well again, you hear me?" she said. I just nodded. "I'll check up on you later." she said, then walked off. Chris was oddly silent. I still felt his hand on my shoulder. My infected shoulder. I fought back tears. After a few seconds, I cast around for something to say. "What time is it?" I asked.

"Four thirty in the morning." one of the nurses said as she rushed past. I groaned, sitting back on my bed.

"Chris?"

"Mmm?"

"Will I still be able to get back into the war in three months?" I said, afraid to hear the answer. I looked up into Chris's eyes. He looked back at me, and his face didn't say good things. "They...can't tell this early."

It didn't matter. It might as well have been a flat out no. I closed my eyes, tight, seriously forcing back tears at this point. "Chris?"

"Yeah Piers?"

"Can you make everyone leave?"

"These doctors need to work on you, Piers." Chris said somberly.

"Not for a long time. Just for a little while." I asked, looking up at him. I couldn't hold it back anymore, the tears were streaming down my face.

"Piers..." Chris tried.

"Please..." I said, shutting my eyes tight. "It hurts...it hurts so much..." I said weakly. I couldn't even figure out what it was that was hurting me so bad, the pain from the viral attack, the notion that I would be forbidden from serving under Chris in the war for any longer, or the absolute shame of crying in front of my Captain. It was a mixture of all three.

I think the last one hurt the most, though.

"...Alright Piers." Chris said. "_Hey. Everyone out for a little while._" he said. I heard protests from the doctors, but Chris asserted himself. "_OUT._" he said firmly. Not another word was spoken, and I heard people leaving.

"Did you want me to stay?" he asked.

"Please, Chris. Don't leave." I begged. I pulled the red sheet up over me. "I won't." I heard Chris say. I heard him take a seat next to my bed.

This Christmas was going to be hard.

* * *

_Leon Kennedy_

Ashley and I were discussing the war when my cell phone rang. "Excuse me." I said politely. She nodded and I answered it. "Leon?" I heard.

"Who is this?" I asked.

"It's Jill Valentine, dummy!" she said. "Oh, right, my bad." I realized.

"Listen, Piers is getting worse." she said. At least, that's what I thought she said. "Hold on, _worse?_ I thought he was doing great!" I said. I could see Ashley looking at me tentatively. "He was, but the virus mutated and messed him up pretty bad. Could you come over here? Or maybe send someone over?"

"Well, jeez Jill, I'd like to, but..."

"What's the matter?" Ashley and Jill said at the same time. I covered the phone with my hand. "Piers Nivans is suffering from the virus in some new way. They want me to go to..."

"You don't have to tell me where. You can go, just give Mr. Nivans my regards." Ashley said immediately. "Are you sure?" I asked. She nodded. From the phone, I head Jill say "Come on, Leon, you've seen things from the C-Virus we might not have. Your knowledge could help us. _And_ Piers." She said.

"Alright, I'll ask President Cole if I can leave. No promises, though." I said.

"Thanks, Leon." Jill said, then hung up. I closed my phone. "Sorry for cutting this short, Ashley." I apologized. "It's nothing." she said. "You go talk to President Cole and try to get him to let you go...wherever it is you need to go."

"Okay. Maybe I'll see you soon."

"Within the month, remember?"

"Oh right." I said. Then I took my leave.

* * *

_Jill Valentine_

Piers' face had looked so broken. Everyone within the B.S.A.A. complex had heard him screaming a few hours ago. That kid had to have been in a lot of pain. I didn't want to think about what kind of feelings could put a man as tough as Piers into such shape.

I really hoped he wouldn't die. I _really, really_ hoped he wouldn't die.

* * *

_Piers Nivans_

They had turned the lights off. My eyes had adjusted to the dark, and I could see the dark shape of Chris sitting next to my bed. His hand was still on my shoulder, where I wished it would stay. I didn't know what time it was, so I didn't know how much time had passed, but I hadn't slept yet. I had finally stopped sniffling a few minutes ago, but that didn't make me feel any better.

"Chris?" I asked for the third time.

"Yeah Piers?"

"Am I weak?"

"No, Piers. You have never been weak, you're not weak now."

"Chris...I was stupid, though."

"What do you mean?"

"This is my own fault I'm like this. I injected myself, this is my price."

"Don't talk like that. You did what you had to. For the B.S.A.A."

"I deserve this."

"You don't."

"I..."

"Piers, stop beating yourself up over this, you've done nothing to deserve it. That's an order, soldier."

My breath caught in my throat. I knew those words were serious.

I concentrated on Chris's arm on my body. It told me that he cared. And out of anyone in the world right now, I wanted Chris Redfield to care.

**~XOXO~**

**Ah, man. I hope I wasn't too harsh to Piers. Did I write this well? —Chris**


	10. Struggle Through

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 10: Struggle Through**_

* * *

**Wow...so much happened last chapter. I'm running out of excitement for this one! Just this and another chapter after before you get your Christmas EVE episode. Which means the Christmas chapter is the 13th chapter. Hmm. —Chris**

* * *

_Chris Redfield_

Piers continued to have occasional electrical attacks. Each time he had one, it was...horrifying. The way he screamed was torture to hear. Each time, he would go back to the infirmary, and they would have more tests. His skin would get singes or burns, occasionally, but they would always fix him up and send him back into his normal life, trying to get him to push through it. I could see his resolve failing, though. Every day, I would visit him in his room, trying to exercise or just looking out the window. Other times, it would be in the hospital. Piers always brightened when I showed up, which I was glad for. The virus inside him was tearing him up, and his arm wasn't getting better very fast. Occasionally, if you looked closely, you could see that a claw was shorter, or that a protrusion wasn't quite so large. Maybe there would be less pink in one area on any given day. The doctors and nurses assured us he was making progress, even if it was slow—and I held the head doctor against the wall until he swore it under threat of being fired for malpractice—so, Piers retained a smile at all times.

I saw through it, though.

I was with him almost every day. Eventually, he would ask me what I wanted for Christmas again, but I always told him I didn't want anything. He'd look disappointed, and I'd clap him in the back, or hug him, and wonder if he'd like what I was getting him. I _did_ have a gift for him, but...I wondered if it might be better just to wait to give it to him. Whenever I thought this, I reminded myself that he wouldn't tell me what else he wanted, that this was the only thing I could think of that he _would_ possibly like, and that Christmas was not about the presents anyway. It didn't help that Jill usually plans a Christmas party. So I was visiting Piers today, the **9th of December**, to tell him the news.

"They're canceling it."

"What?" Piers asked. "They can't cancel the Christmas party for me!"

"Piers, I've asked around. Nobody wants to party when you're like this, and no one has a problem with going without."

"But I'm just one person."

"You're a very important person. Come on, Piers, it's not a big deal. We're the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance. It's not like we need to have Christmas celebrations."

"But you were going to, and—"

"Piers, enough." I said firmly. "We're all much more concerned with you beating this virus."

I could see tears in Piers' eyes. I gave him a hug, which he returned. "I wish you wouldn't go to all this trouble for me."

"No you don't." I teased. "You got a free shirt out of it."

"Which I can't wear anymore." Piers reminded me.

"Oh." I remembered. "Well, still. You're glad we're doing this, right?"

"Yes!" Piers said. "It means the world to me, Captain."

I smiled. "And it _**is**_ the world to us, Piers. In more ways than one." he smiled at me at that. But for some reason...he looked kind of sad at the same time. I couldn't figure it out. "Are you okay?" I asked. "I'm fine." he said. "Okay. You wanna go eat lunch?" I asked.

"Yes please." he said quickly.

* * *

_Ada Wong_

I was sitting in the interrogator's office. I'd already told him the story, leaving out a few details (a lot, actually. I pretty much told him what I told Chris Redfield and clammed up at that point.) and now he was off to "_discuss the information with associates of the United Kingdom and intercontinental executives of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance_" and whatnot. I sat quietly in my chair. I could just break out now. In fact, it was tempting, very tempting. But I had made a promise to Mr. Nivans, and, unlike a lot of promises, I was sticking to it. Even the basest of people would agree that I've had a major hand in the bioterror war.

After a while, the man returned. "We've discussed evidence. Are you pleading guilty?"

"We're not at the trial yet."

"You've already made a confession, to go against it would be contradictory anyways."

I sighed. "Guilty it is, then."

"Name, date of birth, etc.?"

"**Ada, Ada Wong**, none of your business, and 'etcetera' can mean anything, you're going to have to elaborate." The officer threw me a very dirty look at this. "We have all weapons and contraband from you, would you care to disagree?"

"You certainly looked hard enough." I said sourly. "Next time tell that guy to keep his eyes on the job, and he might not get a high heel to his face next time."

"Will do." The man said sarcastically. With that, he and three other large, beefy men (I almost felt flattered) escorted me to the holding cell that would be my cage until I was due for the United Kingdom. With that, they left me.

"Well, what goes around..." I said. The cell was pretty bare. They didn't even give me water, they thought I'd use it to sponge down the walls and weaken them or something. Ridiculous. But hey, I said I would, and I am.

* * *

_Jill Valentine_

It was a shame about the Christmas party, but Piers was more important. Right now, I was sitting in my office, which I don't usually use officially, with Leon on the other side of the desk. I had my laptop open, ready to take notes on anything he could give me about the virus. Leon just stared at me.

"Something helpful right about now..." I pressed him.

"Uh, well...Chris and Piers fought a lot of J'avo on their missions, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well...ugh, can you call Chris?" he said. I sighed. I picked up my cell and dialed the number for Chris's speed dial. After aout the eighth ring, the phone was answered. "Hello?"

"Chris, it's me, Jill—"

"No, it's Piers. Chris is in the bathroom, and I saw the number, so, uh, I hope it was okay if I answered..." Piers said tentatively. "It's fine, either one of you will work. Listen, Piers, I'm handing the phone to Leon."

"Kennedy?"

"Yes, one sec." I said, handing the phone to Leon. He pressed speakerphone and put the phone on the desk. "Hey Piers."

"Hey Leon, did you need something?"

"Yes, actually. You and Chris took on plenty of J'avo on your mission in China, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, did you notice how whenever a part of the J'avo was stressed or received too much fire, then that area of them would mutate and they'd grow something new?" Leon asked. My eyes widened as I realized what he was talking about. "Yeah...what are you saying?"

"Well, that got me thinking, have you strained or stressed your right arm recently?" Leon said hopefully. "If you have, we might be able to angle our research from that and fix it."

There was silence for a while. "Well, I exercised my arm every day, but no, I don't think I've strained it."

"Maybe...maybe you turned the wrong way in your sleep? Pulled a muscle?"

"Nope." I heard Piers say sadly.

"Dammit." Leon said under his breath. "Do you know anything you've fought before that might could relate to this?" he asked.

"I...don't think I do. Chris is here now, though, you could ask him."

"Hand him the phone." There were the sounds of the phone switching hands. "Hmm?" Chris's voice said.

"Chris, do you think you've fought anything that might relate to the virus resurfacing in Piers?" Leon asked. Chris was silent for a while, too. "Not...that...I can recall." he said slowly. Leon and I both groaned. "Sorry, I wish...there was, but I can't say that Piers' attacks remind me of anything. We've never seen bioelectric B.O.W.s before now."

I sighed. "Okay, Chris, thanks. We'll talk to you later."

"See ya."

"Bye Jill, Leon." Piers said.

"Later." Leon said. Then I took the phone, closed it, put it back in my pocket, and raised an eyebrow at Leon. "Got any other ideas?

* * *

_Chris Redfield_

I pocketed my phone. "Sorry about that."

"It's not a problem, the doctors will figure it out." Piers said. We were at a restaurant, different than the bar we'd been at a few times, chowing on fish and lobster. I think it was the first time either of us had eaten any seafood since October. It was delicious.

I chewed my lobster slowly. Piers had been really gnawing down on his fish earlier, but now he was sort of just moving it around with his fork and staring at it. "You okay? I'm sorry about that call." I said.

"I'm fine."

"No you're not."

"How do you know?"

"Because you were starving a second ago." I said.

"I still am!" Piers said, putting a piece of fried fish in his mouth to prove it.

"Piers...You're gonna get better—"

"I wasn't even thinking about that!" he protested.

"So what were you thinking about?" I challenged. Piers opened his mouth to say something, then shut it and looked down at his plate again. "Spill it."

"It's really not that important, Chris." Piers said quietly.

"I wanna know what's bugging you." I insisted. Piers sighed. "Ada Wong."

"What about her?"

"Well...I sent her to prison for life. And, it's Christmas..."

"Piers, come on. That bitch is responsible for your condition—_she's the reason you're having these attacks_. You don't seriously feel sorry for her, do you?"

Piers looked me in the eye. "Yeah, I think I do. People like Leon and your sister do a lot of the same kind of work she did. But she got involved with the wrong man. Claire got involved with the right one." Piers explained. I felt a little bit irked when Piers said that, knowing he meant Leon.

"She's ruined your Christmas, Piers." I said softly. "Don't you think she at least deserves to spend the holiday in prison?" I asked.

"But...Chris..."

I raised an eyebrow. Piers looked me in the eye.

"My Christmas isn't ruined."

"Maybe ruined is a strong word..." I admitted. "But this is a strong condition. And it's _her fault_."

"It's Simmons' fault. And he's dead now." Piers said. "My Christmas...is going to be perfect."

"How can you think that?" I asked him under my breath. "You...you could be here for a much longer time. And you keep having these attacks. How the fuck could you have a perfect Christmas? I'm not trying to be a downer or anything, but jeez, Piers." I said.

Piers just looked down. He took a few bites of his fish before saying "It just will be. I know it." He looked back up at me. "So you can tell Jill the Christmas party's back on. I'm not having it any other way."

He stared me down for what seemed like an eternity. I was confused as hell, but I eventually conceded. "Alright, I will. And Ada Wong?" I asked, opening my phone. "I'll write a letter." Piers said, nodding. I texted Jill.

**_Chris_**

**_Piers says the Christmas party is on. He won't let me out of it._**

A few seconds later, I got a response.

**_Jill_**

**_We are not having a Christmas party with him in the condition he's in. You better not be trying to frame this on him just so you can have a celebration._**

**_Chris_**

**_I can ask him to talk to you if you want._**

**_Jill_**

**_Nevermind it, I'll get back to him. We'll talk about the party thing, but for now I'm busy, so I'll see you later._**

**_Chris_**

**_Goodbye and goodnight to you to, then._**

"She says she'll talk with us about the party."

"Good." Piers said, smiling. "Let's finish this food and get going."

"What, you think they'll charge extra if we stay too long or something?"

"One could say this extra appendage counts for a third party member."

That got me laughing, so I swallowed the rest of my food. Once Piers was finished with the fish and fruit, he and I got up and left. After we were out of the parking lot and on the road, Piers started to hum a Christmas tune. I couldn't help but whistle along. Soon, we were singing along to the tune of:

"_Jingle bells, frozen hell, get buried in snow!"_

But we couldn't keep going without bursting into fits of laughter. "Merry Christmas, Piers." I said, smiling at him.

"Merry Christmas, Captain.

**~XOXO~**

* * *

**...So...um...did I do this well? —Chris**


	11. Resolve

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 11: Resolve**_

**Well, the idea for this chapter just burst into my head in a matter of about thirty seconds, so forgive what comes out :3 ~_~ I'm just feeling that Christmas spirit, and it's not even December yet. Also, hurray! Regeneration now has 1,000 viewers and 3,000 views for the month of November! Time to celebrate! Woohoo! **

**Ugh, short chapter. I can do better than this! —Chris**

* * *

_Piers Nivans_

After I mailed the letter, I headed out of headquarters and into town. I couldn't belive that I was doing this. I waited until **December 17th** to _finally_ think of an idea, and this is what comes to me? There was no way, _no fucking way_, that Chris would ever like a Christmas present like this one. There was no excuse for it. He'd never want to celebrate the holiday with me again. And yet, I was still walking. Still heading around the stores and shops, seeing which ones were open, wondering if being a B.S.A.A. member would buy me into some of the closed ones. I had a feeling I knew which one I wanted, but for the life of me, I couldn't imagine entering it normal, much less in the condition I was in.

Hefting my right arm onto where my pocket was half-heartedly, I thought about the attacks I'd been having since the first. They'd lessened considerably in the past week, so whatever the doctors were pumping into me was working. While I wasn't having nearly as many, and they weren't quite so sever, they could still cripple me. And it would be just typical if this virus kicked my ass while I was out in public. Much less...the place where I was going.

Well, there was _maybe_ just _one_ excuse for what I wanted to get Chris—it was, if only barely, less sappy and romantic than the fantasy that had been playing out in my mind for a while, which had sort of been what had come to me when Chris had said I'd have to "surprise him" all that time ago. I was still sure he wouldn't like it. Even getting it ready was going to be embarassing as hell, because I had no idea how to do it. Or how much more of a challenge it would be the way I was.

Finally, I came to the store I wanted, and gulped. It was open, but there were virtually no people here. I guess that was something good. I walked over to the front entrance, wondering if I should just go in. Before I could decide, a nice-looking old woman came around one of the shelves and gawked at me. She looked ready to call the police. I gulped again—if this woman dialed 911, and the headquarters, or anyone for that matter, knew I was here, I'd never be able to get out from under it. I hastily flashed my B.S.A.A. badge and waved at her with my left hand to show her I wasn't rogue. She looked at me curiously, walking up to the entrance doors, and almost pressing her nose against the glass.

"I'm a soldier for the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance. It's okay, I won't infect you. Please let me in."

She stared at me for a couple more seconds. "How do I know that for sure?" she said in a soft voice.

"I'm Piers Nivans, and I still don't have a Christmas present for—" but I was spared the trouble of making up someone to buy for, because she opened the door at that moment. "Piers Nivans?" she said. "Yes, I've heard of you. You come right on in here and get what you need." she said, allowing me in. "Thank you." I said gratefully.

"So what are you looking to get for this person?" she asked.

"Aahh..."

* * *

_Ada Wong_

I was sitting in my cell, finally in the United Kingdom, bored, listening to my guards. They had tried to put me in a cell with some other women first, who had quickly gotten jealous of my outfit and had needed to be painfully put in there place. Then, they had tried putting me with a bunch of men. Who had also not liked me wearing this outfit. They were a little tougher to put down, but the job got done, and they put me in a solitary cell while I heard the rest of the place talking about what a classy bitch this Ada Wong person was. Oh please.

Right now I was sitting, fidgeting with a small rip on the hem of my suit, when I realized my guards seemed to be having a very heated discussion.

"_There's no way._"

"_Seven different signatures are there. It has to be legit._"

"_Or a forgery. She probably planned this._"

"_We can't just ignore it._"

"_Of course we can. She's an evil psycho._"

"_We'd better at least make some calls, check if it's for real._"

"_That'll take way too long._"

"_Don't be lazy._"

After that, I heard them dialing numbers into phones and speaking in very official tones. They would use "The Accused" occasionally. It's not like I didn't know they weren't talking about me, it was a rather silly way to disguise it. The phone calls dragged on an on and on, they must have called people from a dozen different nations. Eventually I heard them faxing things a lot. I got tired of listening to the sounds, so I just laid down on my bunk and let it drift me off to sleep.

A few hours later, or maybe a few minutes later, I couldn't really tell, I was woken up by my cell door opening. I sat up, and the guard handed me an official-looking typed paper. I looked over it quickly. The seal of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance was printed there, ridged upward to it couldn't have been faked. There were also seven signatures at the bottom. I read through the letter, my eyes growing wider and wider by the second. I really couldn't believe what I was laying my eyes on.

At the bottom, I looked at the signatures:

_**Chris Redfield**_

_**Jill Valentine**_

_**Castor Williams**_

_**Jade Serenek**_

_**Camille Coren**_

_**Brandon Dgaref**_

...And finally:

_**Piers Nivans**_

"Well, boys. It looks like you owe me an escort back to the United States of America."

If looks could kill, I'd be dead three times over. I grinned.

* * *

_Jill Valentine_

Leon had left already to get back to the President. However, I really hadn't needed his help getting headquarters decorated anyway. I looked over the lobby, the last place I had done, and surveyed my handiwork. White tree with blue lights? Check. Memorials to fallen in battle on the wall, check. I walked through the halls and the different buildings, wondering if there was anything missing. About 5,000 lights in every room? Check. Mistletoe in only the out-of-sight, more private places?...Check. Christmas ornaments as target practice? Che-wait a second. _Christmas ornaments as target practice?_ Oh hell no, oh _hell no_.

Over on the target practice yard, two soldiers were trying to shoot Christmas baubles off of B.O.W. dummies. I walked over and quickly knocked the two's heads together. "What the hell do you two think you're doing?!" Great. Now I had cursed, _out loud_, today. I had already ruined my Christmas attitude.

"What kind of Christmas spirit do you call this?" I asked, tapping my foot. The two just stared at me, stammering. "W-We just thought we'd have fun, y-ya know, while we practiced..."

"You can clean this up. Your guns will be suspended until tomorrow, and New Years if this happens again. Now be lucky I'm nice this time of year and cut it out."

"Yes Ma'am." They said in unison. I sighed and walked off. I continued the survey of the headquarters, but finished it too quickly. Everything was perfect. Too perfect. It wasn't even the twentieth yet. Maybe I should check on the Christmas tree in the central command lobby, that was where all the presents were going. I walked down through the hallway, and when I finally reached that large, square room, I felt a surge of pride. A low wall, about twenty feet in diameter, ran in a circle around a huge white tree that reached up to the ceiling. Tons of presents, all wrapped, were gathered around the base of it. Hundreds of stockings were hung on the walls. This is where we were going to have the party, and then open the presents. It just felt so, Christmas-ey.

Now what am I going to do for Valentine's Day?

* * *

_Piers Nivans_

"Is it good to go?" The lady asked me. "Yes, I think so, thanks."

I stared down at the thing in my arms. It was...good. Complete, at least. I still knew Captain Redfield wasn't going to like it, even if he could pretend to. I closed my eyes. "Thank you for your help, really." I said, placing it snugly in a wrapped bag.

"My pleasure, sir." she said. "Have a very merry Christmas!"

"You too." I said, smiling as I walked out of the store. I walked down through the streets, holding the package close to my arms, making sure it wouldn't fall or get snow on it. I hurried back to headquarters. I almost bumped right into Chris.

"Hey Piers." he said, grinning. "That my present?" he said, trying to peek.

"_No it is not_." I said, and hurried past him.

"Merry Christmas!" he called.

"Merry Christmas!" I called back over my shoulder. Now where was I supposed to put this? There was a tree in the lobby, but I think that one was for people going away soon. Oh, right, there was a center hall with a much larger tree. Presents were supposed to go there. At first, I walked in the direction of the center lobby, but then hesitated. I just didn't feel like putting this amidst a ton of other presents under a tree, where everyone would be looking through them to get at theirs. No, it was better if I held onto it until I wanted to give it to him.

I went back to my quarters with the bag, hiding it under my bed. Then, I sat down and thought about how Christmas was going to be. Maybe I wouldn't have the best Christmas. But no, nothing could ruin it.

**~XOXO~**

* * *

**Well...One more. Actually, I think I'll split the Christmas chapter into two chapters, one for during the day, and one for during the night. We'll see how it goes. -Chris**


	12. Ceremonial

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 12: Ceremonial**_

**Well, here we GO! It is almost there! I am so freaking excited, gosh I'm shallow. There's not going to be much to this chapter, honestly, but hopefully I reach the 2,000 word mark this time *eyeroll* Please enjoy! —Chris**

_Piers Nivans_

"You'll come, right?" Chris asked.

"Yes, Chris, I'm coming to the party. I'm not gonna get drunk and dance, though." I warned him. "Nobody was about to make you." Chris said, grinning. "Just giving you a little advance, though, I _might_ get just a little buzzed."

"Buzzed is about, what, four beers for you, huh?" I teased. "You shut up!" Chris said, punching me on the arm. I almost fell off the bench we were sitting on. "Easy there." I told him. "I should've just sat on the other side." I said, massaging my left arm. "Sorry about that." Chris apologized. "Aw, it's fine." I said. I looked up. The sky was as grey as ever, but I could see little white flecks floating around. "It's snowing."

"Again?" Chris asked. "If this keeps up, we'll be blasting snowmen out of the sky."

I laughed. "Yeah, we're really gonna be buried in it by January." I said, leaning back on the bench. It was nice, just sitting here with Chris. For once, I had managed to forget about my anxiety over **tomorrow.** Chris, of course, was as cheerful as ever. I lifted my right arm over onto my lap. "Chris, be honest. Do you think this'll get back to normal by February?" I asked.

"Well..." he said, hesitating. "The cure is definitely working. It's smaller."

"That's not what I asked."

"Well, I think it's going to take time. Maybe not five more months, but probably not two more either."

"Okay. Thanks." I said casually. I received a tap on my shoulder and looked over at Chris. He was looking across the street. When he noticed my gaze, he said "What?"

"That wasn't you?" I asked, confused.

"Back here." A slightly familiar voice said. I looked up over my shoulder. There was a woman standing there, in a green suit and red Christmas hat. She was tall, with very long blonde hair. "Piers Nivans, of course." she said. "And Chris Redfield. It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm—"

"Ashley Graham?" I said, recognizing her voice. "Yes, I'm glad you remembered." she said, smiling. Chris turned around to face her. "Aren't you the former president's daughter?" he asked.

"That's right. And I have something for the two of you, if you'd both come with me..." she said, gesturing for us to get up. I stood up respectfully, and dusted myself off, Chris doing the same. "Yes ma'am."

She quickly turned and started to walk down the street. I followed her, allowing Chris to move in front of me, as he was the man in charge. We walked for a long time, following Ashley to who knows where. After about five minutes, she came to a stop at a parking lot in front of a closed store that was mostly empty except for two cars, a small Corola and an SUV. She turned around to face us.

"**Mr. Redfield, Mr. Nivans, President Cole, Vice President Johnson, Personal Presidential Guard Leon Scott Kennedy, Secret Service Agent Helena Harper, and myself are here to formally award you for your acts on behalf on the United States of America in the War on Bioterrorism.**" she said, breaking into a smile. Behind her, I saw several people leaving the SUV, everyone she'd mentioned except for herself. They walked towards us, all smiles. "Also here for your support are **B.S.A.A. executive Jill Valentine**," she said, nodding at Chris, "**African Military personel Sheva Alomar**, and **former S.T.A.R.S. Officer Rebecca Chambers**." she said, surprisingly. Out of the Corola walked Jill, a very tan woman I didn't know, and a smaller woman, pale, with short hair. Chris showed surprise at their arrival. They walked up to us, grinning. The pale woman, who I guessed was Rebecca Chambers, ran right up to Chris and hugged him. "Chris!" she yelped. "It's been way too long!"

"A few too many years, yeah." Chris said, going red. He set Rebecca down, and to my surprise, she ran up and hugged _me_, too. "Whoa!" I said. This woman was tiny, but strong! She didn't even seem to mind my right arm. After squeezing the life out of me, she slid off and shook my left hand. "You're Piers Nivans." she said, of course not needing confirmation. "You're such an amazing soldier. When I heard about you getting cured, I just couldn't believe my ears. I had to come see for myself. And, of course," she said, looking towards Jill and Chris, who was now shaking the hand of the woman that must have been Sheva Alomar, "to see my old fellow officers. Are you doing okay?" She asked.

"Doing pretty good, yeah." I said, a smile breaking across my face. Then she went off to talk to Ashley Graham, and I was greeted by Sheva.

Sheva was just..._whoa._ She looked nice, but not like someone to mess with. I didn't miss the knife hilt sticking out of her boot. I wasn't 100% sure, but I think this was Chris's last partner before me, back in Africa when they killed Wesker. I was immediately filled with respect for this woman. "Hello Piers, my name is Sheva." she said, shaking my hand. "Very nice to meet you." I said. "And the same to you. You should know you are very highly admired the world over." she said, surprising me even more. "I hope to hear of you fighting in the war again soon." she said. "Yeah, so do I." I said, my smile sinking a little at the thought.

Jill and I nodded to each other, and Ashley drew our attention again. The president, vice president, Leon, and Helena walked over to us, and Jill, Sheva, and Rebecca backed up, moving behind us. "It is with great pleasure," President Cole said, "that I reward Chris Redfield and Piers, **Silver Stars** for services of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance and United States Military." he said, holding out two small metal stars attached to ribbons. I took mine proudly. This was my first ever military award. Chris was smiling broadly. Using my left hand and weaving my right claws through the small metal frame, I managed to attach mine to the front of my shirt collar. I'd pin them on a military vest later. "We also hereby award both Chris Redfield and Piers Nivans:" he said, trailing off. The Vice President picked up, holding out a wooden placard with several medals and ribbons on it.

"A **Distinguished Service Medal** each for honorable services committed under military duty."

"A **Legion of Merit Medal** each for actions determined of considerable worth."

"A **Meritorious Service Medal** each for outstanding and unwavering trust in the face of bioterrorism and its advocates."

He held out the appropriate medals for us. Chris was beaming, and so was I, the only difference being I was holding back tears in my eyes. There were two medals left. I was hastily, but carefully pinning the medals onto my shirt. Everyone was smiling at us. I never thought I'd be considered of the same worth as Chris Redfield, much less on the battlefield or in the eyes of the United States President.

"Finally, we hereby award Piers Nivans a **Soldier's Medal**, for his will and incredible resourcefulness," Vice President Johnson said. "and a **Distinguished Marksman Medal**, for his unparallelled accuracy in the field." he finished, presenting me the final two medals. Tears were streaming down my face now. I accepted them quietly. "Thank you." I said, my voice cracking. I had trouble, since my hand and claws were shaking so much, so Chris did it for me. "Thanks." I whispered even more quietly. He nodded. Ashley cleared her throat.

"If I may?" she said, and Leon handed her a second wooden placard rack. "It is with great honor, dignity, and respect that I award the sadly passed members of the B.S.A.A. Alpha Team Purple Hearts, for great service, conduct, and loyalty during their time in the war." I looked at the medals. There were eight, one for Ben, Carl, Finn, Marco, Keaton, Jeff, Andy, and Reid.

"Would you prefer to hang them at the Bioterrorism Security Headquarters, or have them sent to their families?" V.P. Johnson asked. "Have them sent to their families." Chris said. "We've been putting up their memorials at headquarters, we'll add Purple Hearts to their honors."

Leon took back the placard. "We'll make sure they get to the right places." he said solemnly.

"And Piers, we do wish you the quickest recovery." Helena said. "Thank you all so much." I said, lowering my head. "You're very welcome. Those were well deserved." Leon commented. "Mr. Redfield, thank you for your time. Best of luck with the war."

"Same to you." Chris said to them.

Goodbyes were said. Hugs and handshakes traded. Ashley made a point of hugging/Merry-Christmas-ing every single one of us, even the President. And then we were in the Corola, heading back to Headquarters. I was in the backseat with Chris and Sheva. I wasn't sure I could remember the last time I had a reason for being so happy...or so sad. Chris nudged me. "Great job, bud. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." I murmured.

**~XOXO~**

**That's all for today. Tomorrow will be quite special...—Chris**


	13. Christmas Day

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 13: Christmas Day**_

* * *

**MORE MASSIVELY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTES!**

* * *

**Okay! It's finally being written! And, I have a feeling that at this rate, this fanfiction will be over before December even hits X_X Because after these next two or three chapters, there will be time skips and such...Oh jeez. Well...here I go.**

**DISCLAIMER THINGY: The idea for Piers' present to Chris did NOT come from me. It is based on two images I found. Here they are (you'll need to remove the '**_'**characters. Trick I learned from a friend.) :  
**

ht_tp:_/_/_castella_-_star_._deviantart_._com_/_art_/_sleepy_-_338813751 **castella-star** from DeviantArt is responsible for this one.

**Here, remove all the '?' marks, but not the '_' marks, leave those alone.**

Ht?tp?:?/?/25?.media?.?tumblr?.?com?/?tumblr**_**mdr?mvyfZsP?1r0oz?h4o1?_?128?0.?jp?g **negu23fettel** on Tumblr is responsible here.

**Now, for Chris's present to Piers. Well, I put up a poll on ffnet and asked people what they thought. There were three choices and a few people voted. However, one of those people voted under "Other (Please message and describe)" and never sent any PM to me X_X so, regrettably, I'm moving that vote over...which leaves me with a tie...which means I can just say "screw the poll" and do my own creative thing with it! I hope you enjoy the present he gets Piers, and this chapter.**

**Sorry for such long AN! Credit where it's due is important! Also, for any confusion, I've put two lobbies in the B.S.A.A. Headquarters: the lobby itself, next to the entrance, and the "center lobby" which is kind of like an Atrium where the Christmas party is held. Lastly, for the second half of Piers' present, I'll provide an explanation later. Enjoy! —Chris**

* * *

_Chris Redfield_

I looked in the mirror. It had been a long time since I'd looked like this. Christmas hat on my head. Green and white suit (Jill's was red and white) and a red bow on my collar. I looked ridiculous. But still, it felt good. Looping my belt, I grabbed my cell phone and headed down to the center lobby.

Everything was so...how do I even describe it? The halls were decked, and yes, with holly. There were lights everywhere. I had to sidestep a couple wreaths of mistletoe, and more than a couple of the female officers to go with them. "You should get down to the center lobby. We're about to start the party." I said to them when I passed them. Then they'd follow me for a while before I took a different route. Finally, I was at the huge, square room. Everyone was sitting around, fidgeting, and Jill was waiting for me on the other side of the Christmas Tree. She was holding a megaphone and gesturing for me to hurry up, so I wove my way through the people and headed towards her. The other soldiers and staff all parted for me, and greeted me as I went by.

"Merry Christmas, Captain Redfield."

"Happy Holidays, sir."

"Morning, Captain."

"How's it hanging, Mr. Redfield?"

I didn't see Piers anywhere. A little disappointed, but determined nonetheless, I crossed to the other side of the room. The Christmas Tree was really impressive. I took my place next to Jill and she handed me the microphone. I took a deep breath, and spoke into it.

"_Merry Christmas, everyone!"_

Every single soldier got up and cheered. "And as sad as it is that some of us can't be here today," I said, "Let's be thankful that they're out there fighting for this country—this _world_!"

More cheering. I smiled and handed Jill the megaphone. "Now, you all see the presents under the tree." she said. "Go get 'em!" she yelled. There might as well have been an earthquake. About 2,000 people got up on their feet and started running for the wrapped gifts underneath the tree. It was kind of funny, actually. Jill yanked my arm, and I remembered that some of those were for me, too. I grabbed the megaphone. "And be careful!" I yelled. Then I ran for the tree.

Digging through about 3,000 presents past 2,000 people is not easy. But I got it done. Thankfully, it seems Jill stored the smaller, more delicate ones up on the branches of the tree. After about ten minutes of searching, I found one with my name on it. It was from Rebecca, funnily enough. I opened it carefully. Inside was...something weird. It was a tiny Tyrant doll, and looked like the one we had fought at the Spencer Estate all those years ago. On its arm...er, claw, was an impaled Wesker figure. After I got past the sheer what-the-hell-ness of it...I burst out laughing.

The next present I found was from Jill. It was a new set of battle gloves, I looked on the inside...yep, chocolates. I grinned over at her. She held up the headphones I'd bought her. "I love my present Chris, thanks!" she yelled over the commotion. "You're welcome!" I yelled back, then got back to searching. Sheva had sent me an African headband she'd made. A lot of the other soldiers had sent me gifts as well, and by the time I had exhausted the search with help from a few people, I had a ton of candy, a new iPod, and a lot of socks.

By the time I most of the people had opened their presents, they had pretty much obliterated the gifts under and on the tree. There were still plenty left, of course, for those who hadn't been able to make it. I was still searching. I knew it was unlikely and a shallow thing to hope for, but I kept hoping to see a present from Piers. I never did find one, although there _were_ a lot of presents addressed _to_ him—including mine. The fact that so many were here unopened told me that Piers still wasn't here. I got up and sighed.

Jill was next to me in seconds. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"Piers." I said glumly. "He still isn't here." I said.

Jill cocked an eyebrow at me. "Yes he is."

"What?!" I yelped at her. "Where? When did he get here?"

"About ten seconds ago." Jill said. "And he's right over there." she said, pointing to my left. I looked over, and yes, there he was, talking with Leon Kennedy, no less. "Thanks Jill!" I said, then walked towards Piers. His arm looked...a little better. I snuck up behind him—also not an easy thing to do, mind, and listened to them talk. I saw Leon look my way and knew he was aware of me, but thankfully Piers either didn't notice me, or was pretending.

"Good. So you think you'll be up and shooting by February?" Leon asked him.

"I can only hope." Piers replied. "Having a good Christmas?" he asked Leon.

"Yeah, so far." Leon said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "There's a present for you under that tree when you're ready."

"Thanks!" Piers said.

"So did you buy for anyone?" Leon asked. Piers tensed up. "A couple of people, yeah."

"Captain Redfield?" Leon asked, grinning. He smirked my way.

"Oh...uh, well, yeah, I did, but..." Piers started, but I couldn't resist interrupting. "You got me a present?" I asked, not able to resist smiling. Piers jumped a mile and twisted around. "Uhh...y-yeah..."

"Thanks, Piers! Can I have it?" I asked excitedly.

"Well...it's, er, not with me right now."

"So where is it? Or is it not here yet?" I asked. I didn't miss Leon walking away quietly.

"It's...in my quarters..." Piers said, looking away from me. "Great! Let's go, and then you can have yours!" I said.

"Uh...actually, Chris, maybe it's better if we don't...it's not much of a present, and—"

"Come on! Just let me see it! It can't be any worse than what I got you!" I said, grinning, but at the same time feeling my gut lurch at the prospect of giving it to him. I hoped he'd like it.

"Chris, really, you don't want—"

"That's an order." I said, smirking. Pires hung his head, and I felt a little guilty.

"Yes sir."

_Leon Kennedy_

"You seem to be doing well." a voice said from behind me. I turned around and saw a woman walking towards me. She was dressed in red, and there was a red flower in her brown, shoulder-length hair. She was wearing high heels.

"Ada?" I asked incredulously. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Leon, you know it's wrong to curse on Christmas Day." she said, walking closer.

"Ada! How did you escape? You've got to hide!" I hissed, but she just smiled. "Leon, you should know. I was set free, released on all charges." she said. I just left my mouth open in shock. "That can't be possible." I said.

"See for yourself." she said, handing me a piece of paper, which turned out to be a letter, addressed to Ada's captors. It read:

_To those of the United Kingdom Security and Associates of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, North American Branch, and all others to whom it may concern,_

_It is hereby decided that all charges against **Ada Wong** are to be dropped, on request of consultant and plaintiff **Piers Nivans**. It has been received that all acts committed by Miss Wong, while working against various members of the B.S.A.A. and friends, were made in the good faith and to the benefit of others. Given her aid of individuals Ashley Graham and Leon Scott Kennedy, the latter of whom has seen and been aided by her actions multiple times and can vouch for her usefulness and morality, we have conferred with our foreign branches and associates within the United States Secret Service and Presidential Guard. It was agreed by six of the eleven founding members of the North American Branch that Miss Wong holds no intent to make further harm and should be released on request of Officer Nivans. Thank you for your patience._

_**Chris Redfield**_

_**Jill Valentine**_

_**Castor Williams**_

_**Jade Serenek**_

_**Camille Coren**_

_**Brandon Dgaref**_

_**Piers Nivans**_

After a few seconds of staring at the paper, I was able to speak. "I never vouched for you." I said simply. Ada put a hand on her hip. "Helena Harper vouched for me for you." she said, the grin growing wider.

"That's...this is just...this can't..." I said, the letter shaking in my hands. She took it away from me graciously and said "Merry Christmas, Leon." before walking away.

Damn, that woman always seems to come out on top.

_Piers Nivans_

We walked slowly to my quarters. Chris was holding a very large, wrapped box in his arms, and seemed to be trying to hide his face behind it, which was making walking without hitting everything around him a chore for him. The further I walked, the more I was convinced that I'd made a horrible decision in what to get Chris. I just knew he'd hate it, he'd try to laugh or smile, but inside he'd be thinking "What the hell, Piers?" He'd be creeped out. Even I was.

But eventually, we made it back to my quarters. Slowly, torturously, I slid my key into the lock, turned it, and opened the door. Chris carefully spun his way in, and I closed the door. "Great! Now lemme see it, and then I'll give you yours." he said.

"Nope. You first." I asserted as he set the box down.

"No way." Chris said. "You go first."

"My house." I said, a grin growing on my face despite myself.

"A nd you're _my_ soldier." he said. I felt a pang of awkward lust inside as I heard what he said. Strictly speaking...Chris was the head of the B.S.A.A. So if he said I was his...then I was his...

_Careful, Piers,_ I told myself, and shook it off. "I'm not giving it to you until you show me what's in that box."

"Gimme the present."

"_Chris._" I said, folding my arms.

"_Fine._" Chris said. "At least take me to where it is, and then I'll give you mine."

I guess this was okay. Gulping, I went back to my room and Chris followed me. I winced when I realized just how weird this could look to the Captain. I turned to him. "Okay, cough up."

Chris suddenly looked very nervous. "Well..."

"You said you would."

"I know, but...it's not exactly..."

"Not exactly what?"

Chris shut his eyes tight. "Just open it. I'm sorry."

Sighing, I got down on my knees and fiddled with the wrapping. When Chris bent down to help me with it, I waved him away. "I got it, I got it." I read the tag:

"_Merry Christmas Piers! —From Chris"_

Then, I ran one of my claws/fingers through the tape holding it together, and shredded the wrapping. Hastily, I opened the box. There was a lot of stuffing inside, so I pulled it all out, and reached inside.

"I tried to think of something that wasn't too...insensitive..." Chris said tentatively. I pulled out what my claws had found. When I pulled it in front of my eyes, I was kind of speechless. I was holding a golden knife. A _**golden knife**_, seriously. It had a silver handle with a hole at the end, and a golden blade with a hole through the middle. A thick golden chain was threaded through these two holes and formed into what seemed to be a necklace. "Too insensitive?" I asked. "Too _gangster_, is more like it!" I said, starting to laugh. Chris opened one eye. "It's for when...when you come back to the war. I'm sorry." he muttered. "Chris, I love this!" I said.

"You do?" he asked.

Still laughing, I said "Of course I do! This is perfect!" I said, lifting the chain over my head. Smiling, Chris straightened it out, putting one end over my shoulder and the other down to my waist. "It's supposed to go on your military outfit like that. It'll be a little loose right now, but..."

"Thank you so much Chris!" I said, admiring the blade. "How much did you pay for this?" I asked.

"A lot..." he said grudgingly. "But that didn't cost half of what the other one did."

"Other one?" I asked.

"Look in the box." he said.

I did as he said, and this time gasped. My hands pulled out a long, sleek, _**sniper rifle**_. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It was black and red, with a thick bullet hole end grafted onto the neck of the rifle by three small silver rods. There was a complex scope at the end, with two dials and a laser sight. It was just like my anti-material rifle, but sleeker and shinier. I looked it over, eyes wide. "What...how did you...where did you get this? What is it?" I asked, feeling dumbfounded.

"It's custom made." Chris said. "The guy I had craft it called it a "**Splitter Rifle**". If he did it like I asked, it should be just like your old one."

"It is..." I said, completely in awe. The weapon in my hands looked simply..._badass_. "Th-thank you...Chris...This is amazing." I couldn't think of a better possible Christmas present. It just couldn't get better than this.

"The laser sight's a little much, but I hope you like it."

"Chris!" I yelped as I got up and wrapped my arms around him. "So you like it?" he asked. "Of course I like it! I love it!" I said as I released him. "How could you think I wouldn't?!"

"Well, you won't get to be back in the war for a while, and..." Chris trailed off.

"That doesn't matter." I assured him. "I swear I'll train with these, arm or no arm, every day until I can finally get back on the battlefield." I said. "That's awesome, Piers. So can I have mine now?" he asked. I panicked. This gift was just too good. Mine had been bad before, now, in comparison to his, it was the worst possible idea I could have had. "Ah..." I stammered.

Chris grinned. "It's under the bed, isn't it?"

"_NO!_" I yelped, but too late, Chris was already on the ground reaching under my bed. I tried to stop him, but Chris was stronger than I was, and I couldn't bring myself to electrocute him. He wriggled out from under the mattress with the bag clutched in his hand. "Chris, stop!" I said, trying to get it away from him, but Piers was reaching into it. I slumped as he pulled out...

The teddy bear. My face flushed, and I bolted out of my room. "Piers, stop!" Chris yelled, grabbing my ankle. Like a complete klutz, I tripped and landed on my face. Pulling myself up, I turned back to look at Chris. "Don't...don't be mad, please..." I begged. He stared down at the plush in his arms. "Is this...supposed to be me?" he asked.

It was supposed to be him. I had dressed the bear in the exact same outfit Chris had worn on our mission in Lanshiang. It had blue eyes and a gruff face. A smile broke out on Chris's face as he reached for the button on the teddy's chest. "Don't!"

But he did. And then the teddy bear spoke, and I felt more blood rushing into my face. **"Put me down. That is an order."** it said. I turned away. Behind me, Chris started laughing his head off. "H-H-How did, how did, hahaha..." he said, then gulped and tried again. "H-How did y-you get it to sound like me?" he said, now rolling on the floor. I shut my eyes tight, then reopened them. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"This is hilarious! C'mon, tell me!" Chris said, gasping for breath. "I...just tried to sound like you and spoke into the recorder thing..." I said despairingly. Chris dragged my up onto my feet. Then, so my surprise, he pulled me into a hug, even tighter than the one I'd given him. I shuddered as I felt his hands sown my back. I had the strangest sensation: Most of my body went cold, despite Chris's warmth, except for my groin, which got very, _very_ hot. My breath caught in my throat when I felt his hot breath on my neck as he whispered in my ear:

"_Am I your teddy bear, Piers?_"

I couldn't speak. I was having so many different feelings, it was an utter shock when I heard myself reply.

"_Maybe._" I whispered.

Chris pulled back and looked at me. We stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Merry Christmas, Piers."

"Merry Christmas, Chris."

**~XOXO~**

* * *

**Wow...this was hard. I hope I delivered. The Christmas Night chapter will of course, be up tomorrow. So anyway, many thanks to negu23fettel and castella-star. The teddy bear images, they were just so cute! And for those of you who may have noticed, yes, I did borrow the name "Splitter Rifle" from the Gadgetron Splitter Rifle in Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal. Kudos to anyone who's played it, awesome game! If you want to imagine what Piers' new rifle looks like, look up "ratchet and clank splitter rifle" on google images, and try to imagine a mix of his old anti-material rifle, with a black-and-red version of the first image you should get, and you'll have in your head roughly what I meant it to look like.  
**

**Thanks for reading! Please review! Apologies for SO MANY AUTHOR'S NOTES GAAAH —Chris**


	14. Christmas Night

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 14: Christmas Night**_

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**I am lacking so much plot for this chapter. THIS WAS NOT THE PLAN! Good news is...no massive Author's notes for this one! Yay! Enjoy! —Chris**

* * *

_Piers Nivans_

None of it really mattered to me anymore, but in a good way—Chris liked his gift, or at least didn't hate it. I snuck looks at him as we walked down the stairs. He kept it clutched under his arm tightly. Like the way I was clutching my **Splitter Rifle** under my arm. I smiled, feeling warm on the inside. Still, I vowed I would definitely get Chris something of equal worth next Christmas. He had a stuffed bear and I had a deadly weapon. Those two things were worlds apart.

We made our way down to the center lobby again. Everyone was waiting on us there so I could open the rest of my presents. Jill had made everyone sit still and entertain themselves—not too hard to do with dozens of shiny new toys for them to play with—until we'd got back. Grinning, I dug into the rest of my presents.

None of them were as good as Chris's, as I had expected, but I still enjoyed them. Once I had torn the wrapping off of the last one, I had a lot of the latest clothes and techno gadgets, with no idea when I would be well enough to use them. That just made it better though, knowing they were thinking ahead.

After that, it was time for the big Christmas lunch, and we all went to the next room over and sat down while they brought food in. It was ridiculous how much they had cooked. Turkeys, hams, gravies, and a huge selection of desserts. So many desserts. They all looked so good, but I did _not_ want to think about eating them. My stomach growled, and as soon as I sat down, I pushed a big bowl of doughnuts and cookies away from me. Jill and Chris sat on either side of me, and Rebecca and Sheva on either side of them. Across from me sat Claire, Leon, Sherry, Jake, and...was that Ada Wong?

I raised an eyebrow at her across the table. "Hello Piers." she said calmly.

"Welcome back to America." I said coolly, eating a piece of chicken.

"And to headquarters." Jill said, but Ada didn't seem to notice her. "Do you still hate me?" she asked me, looking me in the eyes. I thought about it for a moment. "No, I don't think I hate you. But I haven't forgiven you, either."

"Fair enough." she said, returning to her noodles.

The dinner, after that, was awkward, but returned to normal chatter. After I had eaten my fill, I excused myself and started wandering around headquarters, taking my rifle with me. I actually wondered if it could hurt to practice with it. After all, if I started while I was still healing up, it wouldn't be as hard to ease into it once I was completely normal, right? So I cradled my rifle in my arms and headed up into my quarters again to get a coat, and went out into the shooting range. It was snowing softly, so I'd need to adjust for that. Gripping the gun hard in my left hand, I decided to start easy. Blowing some birds off the nearby rooftops should do it. I checked the rifle and looked inside the clip. Hmm. Thankfully, it seemed to use the same NATOs as my old one. Chris really went all out with this.

I took a post at the nearest guard rail and lifted the **Splitter Rifle**—_my_ Splitter Rifle into my right hand. It was awkward, as my claws still retained the memory of being fingers, but the skin wasn't used to wrapping around the trigger like it was. So, I shifted my weight onto my left leg, took aim, looked through the scope, targeted the bird nearest the end of the roof, and fired.

The shot forced me back and I landed with my left shoulder on the ground. "Ow!" I yelped, massaging it and standing up. I knew why it had happened, though—I was lopsided, so the shot had forced the shock through my left side. Looking over at the rooftop, I saw the bird's corpse still there, a splatter of blood behind it. It's eye was missing. I grinned despite making a goof out of myself. Aiming at another bird, I took position, this time with two changes: I pulled my left leg back behind my right and refused to use the scope this time. After a few seconds of making sure the bird wasn't going to move, I fired again.

This time, the recoil didn't do nearly as much to offset me. Feeling my smile widen, I saw the bird mostly intact, with a red splat behind it. It was a grim kind of pleasure, I'll admit, but it was still kind of fun. In face, I marveled at why there had been any other birds left on the roof after I had killed the first one—this baby was just about silent. Looking down at it, I stroked its smooth black neck. It really was a work of art.

* * *

Occasionally, I went back in to enjoy the music and food and decorations. I even sang a few Christmas carols. But I always came back to the shooting range. I would shoot trash cans and fence posts, and probably vandalized an incredible amount of stuff. But I just couldn't stop. I'd try it one way, then another, determined not to get too deadset in the legs-spread stance I had to hold for now. Sometimes it worked out, but I never could seem to get it just right again.

By the time I had returned to the shooting range for the fifth time, it was dusk, and I was hearing drunken songs being hiccuped out in the other rooms of the headquarters. I hoped none of the uh, less than respectable lyrics I was hearing was coming from the Captain.

"Still practicing, huh?"

Looks like I didn't have to worry. I turned around. "Hey Chris."

"Evening, Piers. How many shots have you fired with that thing already?" Chris asked.

"I dunno, maybe fifty?" I guessed. Chris smiled. "Easy there, it's been less than eight hours since you go tthat thing. Do you really love it that much?"

I beamed. "I really, really do."

"Is...is it working out for you? I mean, with your arm and everything...?" he asked tensely.

"I'm making it work." I assured him. He smiled again. "So fifty for fifty?"

I grinned. "Twelve birds for twelve, eight trash cans for eight, seventeen fence wires for seventeen, ten target posts for ten, and three, ah, larger birds for three."

Chris looked impressed. "Didn't go killing any condors, did you?"

I laughed. "No captain. Just a hawk, maybe a falcon, and...well, I'm not quite sure what that last one was." I said, getting Chris to laugh too. "It's probably not important." he said, then sighed.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"It's already so late. In few more hours, it won't be Christmas anymore." he said. I smiled. "You sound..." I couldn't think of the word for it. Sad? Depressed?

"Young?" Chris suggested, looking at me. "What? No!" I yelped. "I mean...I didn't mean to say...Captain, you're very..." but at this point I was babbling, and trailing off again, and Chris laughed and patted me on the back. "It's okay, I know you didn't mean to say anything like that."

"Chris..." I said, trying to think of something to say. "You are _not_ old. You will _never_ be old!" I said, kicking myself inwardly for it. Chris blinked at me. "That's very decent of you to say, Piers. Never knew I was immune to aging."

_You could be my age, nobody could look and say you aren't._ The thought surprised me as it went through my head. "I...I should just stop talking." I tried.

"No, go ahead." Chris said, leaning against the guard rail casually. "I like the sound of your voice."

"You...c'mon, we could be the same age." I said weakly. Chris just closed his eyes and smiled. "I'm forty. Forty years old. Doesn't that make me officially old?"

"It doesn't!" I said heatedly. Chris got up, stretched and walked over to me. He was uncomfortably close. "Piers." he said simply. Then he took the Splitter Rifle out of my hands. I just let him. He looked down at the weapon in his hands, then at me. "Piers, promise me something."

"What?" I said nervously. He was so gorgeous...God, why were these thoughts running through my head? It was so improper. Chris put the gun in my hands, and our fingers touched, sending chills up my spine. "Promise me, that when it does come time for me to retire—"

"_No!_" I said fervently. "You're the Captain, you're Chris Redfield, you are the reason the B.S.A.A. even exists. You killed Albert Wesker, dammit. This place _needs_ you." I said.

"Yeah, I guess I am the reason the B.S.A.A. exists." he said, smiling. "Me and Jill. And since she's not near neady to retire, I guess I can go it a few more years too." he admitted. "But Piers. I am going to leave this place eventually, someday. And when I do, I _**refuse**_ to put anyone other than you in my place. You are the person I trust to keep this place alive."

"Chris...I can't, I just can't." I tried sadly.

"Promise me, Piers. Promise me you will."

There was no getting out of it. He just stared at me, that small, sad half-smile on his face, his eyes solemn. I stared back at him, filled with sadness that he could ever leave this place...leave _me_.

"I...I'll promise," I said, "If you promise me something." I finished.

Chris gave me a blank look. "Okay. What do you want me to promise you?" he asked.

I shut my eyes, tight. I took a deep breath. "Promise me you won't be mad." I said quietly.

"At what? What's wrong? What am I supposed to be mad about?" he asked, confused.

Another deep breath. Then it all came tumbling out.

"I love you, Chris."

I kept my eyes closed. Seconds passed. I didn't hear anything from Chris. I could feel tears behind my eyelids, and I forced them back. I was not about to cry. That was not about to happen. I could feel my breath shuddering, though, too. Finally, after a few minutes, Chris spoke.

"Piers...I...I..."

I opened my eyes. "I'm sorry..." I whispered. Chris, in response, wrapped his arms around my waist. "W-What are you doing?" I asked, confused.

"Don't be sorry..." he whispered back to me. I couldn't hear the Christmas carols anymore. I couldn't hear anything anymore past Chris, the blood in my ears, and the pounding of my heart. "Chris, I know...that you don't feel like that. I'm sorry I ruined—"

"_Shut up._" Chris said firmly. I shut up. "You haven't ruined anything, and you should not be sorry." His nose was touching mine now. "Chris, if that's the case...then..."

"Then what?"

"Do you...do you have any, any...f-feelings..." I trailed off. "Towards you?" Chris finished for me. I nodded.

"I...don't...I don't know..." Chris said. He was frowning. He leaned towards me. He gripped me tighter. "Chris..." I said. It was all I could say before he kissed me. His warm mouth pressed against mine, and through all the confusion I was feeling, my arms wrapped around his neck, my lips melded with his, and our tongues attacked each other. It was warm, all around me. My eyes were closed, I couldn't hear anything, could only taste and feel. It was bliss. I felt like I should stop myself, push him away from me, restore a Captain/soldier type of situation, but there was just no way it was happening. The only thing forcing me away from Chris was going to have to be him. And the way my arms were squeezing him, even he might not be able to do that.

We kept kissing. I had no sense of time anymore, I didn't care if we never stopped. But at some point, I felt Chris's hands on my chest, and his face pulling away from mine. I pressed against him, prolonging it, until he finally forced us apart. He was panting.

Dizzy, I asked, "What...was that...about?"

"...To see if I loved you." Chris said after some hesitation. I looked at him, and he looked right back at me. "And?" I asked nervously. Chris smiled, grinned, beamed. "I love you too, Piers."

It was like the dreams I'd had. It was like the fantasies I'd tried to stop myself from having. But hearing those words, it drove me into a rush of...sheer _happiness_.

"Merry Christmas..." I said, just before crashing my mouth against his again. He forced me away again, but only long enough to say:

"Merry Christmas, Captain."

I don't have much memory of what happened after that.

**~XOXO~**

* * *

**This is my early Christmas present to you. When December 25th comes, remember to read this and know I thought of you. Merry...er, November! Please don't judge me too harshly on this, I was away from my computer all day. X_X —Chris**


	15. The Day After

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 15: The Day After**_

* * *

**You know what my problem is? Plot planning. The most I can ever come up with is half-formed scenes in my head, and I rely on those to span into full chapters by the time I finish writing. Not the best way to go about it. Plus I'm doing a Resident Evil Secret Santa event, so I have to focus on that, too. Please enjoy! And yes, I'm aware that this is the third consecutive chapter in a row to feature Piers' point of view. Don't judge me, I'll change it up soon enough. —Chris**

* * *

_Piers Nivans_

I woke up in a bed. _And_ I was naked. Oh gosh...I jerked up, looking around me. I was in my room, and sure enough, Chris was here. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. "Chris!" I said, getting his attention, but I regretted it immediately. The sound made my head hurt. But he did notice. "Piers! You okay, man?"

"Yeah, fine." I lied. I thought back to last night. Either that had been a dream, or...

"Chris?" I asked. "Why am I, uh…." Chris went a shade of scarlet I'd never seen before. "They...they showered you, but they couldn't get clothes on you because of...because of the electricity."

"Electricity?" I asked, confused. Subtly, so that Chris wouldn't notice, I slid a hand down to my nether regions and investigated. Sadly, I found I wasn't even the least bit sore there. It was just a dream. "Yeah...Piers, do you not remember last night?" Chris asked. I shook my head. "I...don't think so. What happened?" I asked.

"You had another attack." Chris said solemnly. "Right after...well, we were, ah, hugging," I raised an eyebrow, but he continued, "and you just started screaming, and there were sparks everywhere...I wanted to get you to the infirmary myself, but I couldn't, so I called for help." Chris said. He looked miserable. I thought back to last night...

The last thing I remember was kissing Chris, and then...nothing...just a bunch of white...That was it! That's what I was remembering, all the white flashes! Thinking harder, I tried to remember what had happened after that. Whiteness...feeling the ground, getting dizzy...looking up at Chris...hands all over me...needles...oh God...

I looked at my arm. Thankfully, it didn't seem to have grown again. "Piers..." I looked up, at Chris. He slid his hand over to mine, and took a deep breath. "I hated it. I hated seeing you like that, and not being able to do anything about it." That's right, wasn't it? Chris had never seen one of those viral attacks before. Not that I would've told him how much it hurt or anything, I mean. "It was awful. I thought you were going to die." Chris said. I could see tears in his eyes. "Is it always that bad?" he asked.

"Well...not always..." I said evasively. "But usually?" he asked. I lowered my head and nodded. "Piers..._Piers._" he whispered, sounding tortured now. He slid over and hugged me. I hugged him back, but the reaction in my loins reminded me that it would be embarrassing if I didn't get some clothes on. "Uh, Chris..." I said, and he backed away quickly. "Right, right...do you want me to leave?" he asked.

"No, no, just...I'll be dressed in a few minutes, okay? You can wait in the living room." Chris nodded and left the room. I slipped on boxers and jeans, then looked at my shirt drawer. Haphazardly, I tried to put one of my t-shirts on. Nope, that was not working. After a few attempts, it was clear that if I tried any harder, I was going to rip it. And I really didn't feel like hemming all of my shirts. So I sighed, and walked out into the living room without one. Chris was sitting on the couch, flipping through TV channels. He smiled at me when I came in and patted the seat next to him. I sat down, stretched, and asked "What time is it?"

"About ten A.M."

"Huh."

"Piers." Chris said without looking at me. "Yeah?" I asked.

"I love you." he said. My stomach turned over and I felt myself going red. "I love you too, Chris." I said. Why was he just telling me this out of nowhere?

"It...was hard to figure out, at first." Chris explained awkwardly. "I've never...looked at a guy quite like I have you." he said. I kept my eyes on the TV screen and the mindless images flashing across it. After a few seconds, I responded. "It's been the same way for me. I never really looked at any guy, and I don't even have a lot of experience with girls, but...well, at first, I thought I just admired you a lot." I admitted. "Which I really, really do. But...I started to...it was kind of..." I struggled to find the right words. "I looked at you a lot more often than I should have." I finished.

"I looked at you more often than I should have too." Chris said, looking at me now. "And definitely not for the reasons I should have." he said. "Now I know why." I heard him say. I turned myself to face him. He was looking at me with...a look I hadn't seen before. While he talked, he reached a hand over and placed it on my chest. I closed my eyes and felt him sliding it down over my abdomen. "I've really started to look at you a different way, Piers." he said quietly. I breathed in and out deeply. His hand went lower...

And then the doorbell rang.

I winced. "I'll—"

"No, I'll get it." Chris interrupted, and went for the door hastily. I heard the door open, and Claire Redfield walked into the room. "Good morning!" she said. "I thought I'd come over and see what your apartment looks like before I left. How's it going?" she asked.

"Fine, thanks." I said. Somehow, I felt a lot more self-concious than I had ten seconds ago. I wish I could wear a shirt. "I was just about to go and make something to eat, did you want something?" I asked. "Sure." she said brightly. Feeling my own stomach growling at me to hurry up, I went into the kitchen.

* * *

_Chris Redfield_

Of course Claire would like the idea of Piers Nivans, shirtless, making her breakfast the morning after Christmas. She sat down happily on the sofa, and so did I, after Piers refused my offer to help with the bacon. Then I got lost in thoughts about ten seconds after Claire started talking about what was going on with TerraSave.

"_Chris..." Piers moaned into my lips._

"_I'm here." I said. "I'm here, Piers."_

_He pulled away from me and rested his head on my shoulder. "Chris..." he moaned. I loved hearing it, but it felt like he was trying to tell me something. "Chrriisss..."_

"So they wanted to send me off to Vietnam, but I told them "No, Chris said I have to stay where I am until he's off his leave." Claire chatted to me.

"Ah huh." I said, not really paying attention.

"_What is it, Piers?" I asked, looking down at him. He pushed away from me suddenly, backing away and holding his head. "C-Chris..."_

"_Piers, are you okay...?" I asked, wanting to hold him again, but nervous. "Chris...Chris..." he said it again and again, and I was starting to get worried._

"_CHRIS!" he screamed. Lightning arced from his arm and struck me in the chest. I doubled over, while white lights flashed back and forth between my eyelids._

"And they're all like "_The_ Chris Redfield?" like I haven't told them a thousand times about you."

"Sure." I said, not even seeing her at this point.

_His whole body lit up. With his green clothes, he could have been a Christmas tree. But he wasn't. He was screaming my name, screaming it in agony and pain. I stumbled over to him, tried to get a hold of him, but I couldn't touch him without getting zapped. "Chris...Chhhrrisss! C-Chris!" he screamed, but I couldn't help him. I watched him fall, writhing, on the ground. People were flooding out onto the shooting range now. Their voices meshed and mixed together into a din I couldn't make out, not over my soldier, my Piers, lying on the ground like that._

"Chris, you still with us?" Claire asked.

"Yeah." I said, unaware I was lying through my teeth.

"You sure about that?" she said.

"Mmhmm."

_Kneeling next to him, trying to get him to respond, I saw people with white gloves heaving him up, putting him onto a primitive stretcher. I looked at them, not being able to tell one from the other, only wondering why they could touch him and I couldn't. That wasn't right, how could they...? But wait, the gloves were rubber, of course. Managing to make myself stand, I watched them shuffle away with him. With Piers._

_I had no idea how long I stood there. I had no idea what the hell had just happened. When it finally occurred to me that I had watched one of Piers' viral attacks happen in action, I rammed my way past a lot of people and rushed after them._

"Bacon's ready!" Piers said. I snapped out of my reverie. "Bacon?"

"Yeah, bacon. 'Ya know, dead pig. Like the guy I've been talking to for the past five minutes." Claire said dully.

"Whatever, just tell TerraSave we're doing the best we can." I said, watching a plate of bacon plop down in front of me. Although never in front of my sister, I had to admit that Piers, shirtless, serving me breakfast was definitely pleasing.

I thought more quietly and less noticeably while I ate. I didn't stare off into space, or at Piers, as I'd found myself doing quite a lot lately. Claire and Piers picked up the conversation from then on, and all I was required to do was give some occasional input. The bacon was excellent, I hadn't known Piers was such a good cook.

He really was good-looking. I couldn't help focusing on his chest, his face, his eyes. Whenever I would meet his eyes, he would just smile and act like he hadn't seen me. I liked that about him. I didn't like remembering what I had seen last night. Piers didn't deserve to have something like that happen to him. He didn't deserve anything that had happened in the last three months, really. It hurt to see him so...broken. On Christmas night, no less!

Suddenly, I remembered that the present I had got him, the Splitter Rifle, had special bullets I was supposed to pick up today. Piers lit up when I mentioned that yes, there was more to his gun than I had already given him, and I went outside to make the call. The man said some things, and it would be ready for me to pick up later today. End the call, close the cell phone, walk back into the apartment.

I wished Claire would quit looking at Piers like that.

Wait, was I getting jealous of Claire? Damn, last night really messed me up.

Claire winked at me. Why the _fuck_ was she winking at me?

* * *

**Oh...dammit...School tomorrow. X_X I hope you can forgive me for the lack of material in this chapter. I'm pretty sure the next one will feature New Years Eve/Day. So there will definitely be more to that one. Please review. Ow, my head. X_X —Chris**


	16. New Years

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 16: New Years**_

* * *

**OMFG I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T EVEN START THIS UNTIL 8 FREAKING P.M. OHMYGOD. —Chris**

* * *

_Rebecca Chambers_

It was New Years Eve Night. I was heading out onto the deck over the shooting range when I ran into Claire.

"Oh, hey Claire. Happy New Years." I said. "Happy New Years to you too, Rebecca. But you don't wanna go out there right now." she said, blocking my path. "Why not?" I asked. It wasn't like the overhead deck was a private office or anything.

"Because my brother is having one of his 'moments' out there right now."

"What do you mean, 'moments'?" I asked. I had heard that Chris had developed a drinking habit, but I hoped he hadn't gone on a binge tonight. "Just...a moment. A private one."

I tried to imagine what sort of private moment Chris could be having that would require him to keep Claire as a guard. "So, why are you here? Did Chris ask you to make sure no one came by or something?" I asked. "Y-Yeah." Claire said quickly, but she hesitated. I furrowed my brow. "He did not."

"Yes, he did!"

"You were spying on your brother."

"No, I just came back here, and the door was locked, and..."

"And it was just so rusty that it broke and you accidentally opened it?" I said sarcastically.

"Sure..." Claire said weakly. "You are such a liar!" I said. "You were spying here. So, clearly, that means that whatever Chris is up to, it's worth hiding." I said, getting suspicious. "You're overreacting, Rebecca. Chris is head of the B.S.A.A., he has moments like this all the time." she said. "Well, I'm going to take a look at that rusty lock you were talking about." I said. "And I'm not giving up. So you can let me by. I promise I won't make any loud noises or open the door." I said. Chris opened and closed her mouth several times.

"Okay, but nothing you see or hear leaves this place. Ever. _EVER_."

"Calm down." I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm sure if it were that bad a secret, you'd have taken better measures. I mean, really. You could've just said 'hey Rebecca, you should go try this new soup down in the cafeteria, it's amazing' and I'd have gone." I said, walking towards the deck door.

"Hey, watch it." Claire said, walking next to me. "My secrecy skills are the best."

"Apparently, the best isn't very good." I said dully.

"Yeah, well..." Claire trailed off.

I crouched next to the door. "Eye or ear?" I asked.

"Eye, it's better seen than heard." she said.

I bent my eye down to peer through the keyhole. I had to hold back a yelp.

* * *

_Jake Muller_

I woke up, bleary-eyed and with a headache. Dammit. I'd fallen asleep again. Oh well. At least it was only eight. Maybe I'd have a chance to sober up before midnight and the fireworks really started. I _hate_ it when people suck me into drinking games. I got up out of bed and decided to go for a walk. I'd seen a few of the soldiers here do it when they got more drunk when they were willing to admit. Maybe it works.

I pulled on my jacket and slipped through the halls of the headquarters. A lot more people greeted me than usual. I guess it was okay. I really didn't feel like talking to anyone. Less than usual, I mean. After I got into the lobby, the door guy called out to me. I didn't really register what he said, but I called back "Happy New Year" to him anyway. Then, I walked out of the complex and into the streets.

Damn, it was cold. I was used to it by now, but it always stung worse when hungover. I pulled my coat tighter around me and walked down the street. I didn't see a lot of people out, but the ones I did see were busy arming fireworks, most of which didn't look legal. Hey, didn't bother me none. People here in Colorado really took their new years seriously, though. Walking down a little further, I saw that one of the streetlamps was out. Underneath it, though, was a small bonfire. Nobody was around it.

I looked around. Nobody even seemed to give it a second thought. I doubted the chances of a fire getting out of control, but just to be safe, I walked up to it and looked around a second time. "_Hey!_" I called out. "_Anybody gonna keep an eye on this?_" I yelled. No one answered. The two people on this street looked at me, then just ignored me and kept walking. It didn't seem right for this just to be sitting here all by its lonesome. It also seemed kinda creepy.

I sat down next to the fire. If there wasn't anybody concerned about it, I might as well use it to warm up. Sure, I could have just stayed inside, but I miss things like this. Things were always better when with my bros in the mercenary groups when we were around a fire. I guess those B.S.A.A. soldiers and the military and whatnot had moments like these sometimes too, but I didn't really care to think about those. With the mercenaries, it's all about money. With the mercs, just because you're probably going to die, doesn't mean you have to make a big deal and make a bunch of connections with other people about it. I liked it better that way.

Leaning back, I laid my hands behind me. My hand crinkled and smushed something underneath it. I looked down, thinking some kid had dropped a candy wrapper here, but it wasn't a candy wrapper. It was a little piece of paper with writing on it. I took a look at it. It seemed to have been here for a while. So close to a fire, it was a wonder it hadn't caught and burned. It read:

_Have a happy New Year! If you are sad, lonely, or simply bored, please enjoy this fire for a while, and reflect. Enjoy the warmth. But whatever you do, please don't let it burn out before morning._

_20.13/20.14_

That was a nice little note. It kind of reminded me of a bike that had been ridden all over Eudonia one time. There had been a note on it telling you to borrow it, take it where you liked, and then give it to someone else who needed it. On the other hand, though, a bike ride would have been a lot more appreciated right now than a note telling me to "reflect".

I did what I said though. And naturally, my mind turned towards the one thing I hated thinking about.

_**My dad. What the hell else did you expect?**_

It started as just picturing him, but then the resent started building up again. I pictured in my head what they'd told me he looked like: Black trench coat, sunglasses _all the time_, blond hair, gelled and slicked back, and glowing red cat eyes. It was a lot different than the sorry ass I had been picturing before, but it fit the image of "Albert Wesker" really well.

It was hard, to think that your dad was someone who wanted to destroy the world, turn people into zombies and tentacle monsters, and desperately wanted to kill the guy whose sister babysitted Sherry like, fourteen years ago, and worked with her dad, or uncle, or whatever to make Zombieland real. I had a hard time thinking anyone could want that. I also had a hard time imagining some psycho trying to spread germs all over the world, would for whatever reason want to go and _copulate_ with the woman that was my mother, then just leave her all alone with a a son to support, somehow head over heels for him. But apparently, this man didn't have much time to settle his libido with a woman he actually felt like being with.

I sighed. I wish mom was still here, childish as it sounded. I looked into the fire, picturing her face. But then, Wesker's face...or what I thought to be Wesker's face, my father's face, would pop up, and I'd want to spit in it. I wondered what Albert Wesker would have done if he had managed to live a lot longer. I didn't resent Chris for killing him, not anymore, but now I couldn't help but think that if I had _met him_, maybe I could have turned him around. Well, maybe not. They said he was completely nuts by the time Kijuju came around. At the same time, I could only be awed at the idea that the man ripped a crashed plane open. It was a shame it took a zombie virus to get that kind of muscle.

_Dad...Wesker. I wish you were just some sorry drunk. Then maybe I wouldn't have to hate you and feel sorry for you at the same time. I guess it's for the best, though. If you didn't have the antibodies to these viruses, I wouldn't either, and the world would be losing a lot more people before they were all finally gone. Damn...how many people did you kill before you died? How many people did you do worse to? And what the hell was going through your head before I was born?_

"You set this fire up?"

"Yes." Sherry answered simply. She sat down beside me. She looked into the fire, and not at me. She could do that all she wanted, but I'd had enough of it. I'd much rather look at her.

_What are you thinking about, Sherry?_

* * *

_Chris Redfield_

Piers rested his head against my shoulder, and I leaned back against the deck rail. I'd finally managed to get him to stop shooting that damn rifle for a while, and I was enjoying the outcome. I knew his hand resting on my ass was no accident, and he didn't seem to mind me returning the favor. He was silent for a while, and so was I. Checking my watch with my free hand, I saw that it was about 9:30 at night. The fireworks were supposed to start at around 11:00.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" I asked him after a while.

"Pand...uhh, nothing." he said. I pulled him away from me and stared him in the eye for a few seconds. "It's snowing." he said quickly. I looked up, and yes, it was snowing. I wondered if it would stay like that until 2014. "Huh. It sure is. I can't wait to get the hell back to someplace warm."

"_I know someplace warm._" Piers purred in my ear suddenly. I jumped a little when he said that. "What?!" I asked him. He blinked. It looked like he was surprised at his own words, and he went red. "Ah, sorry. Got carried away." he said, the blush getting more noticeable.

"Well, gee Piers..." I said, nuzzling his neck. "If you get carried away that easily, I wonder what happens when you get excited?" I said. I felt him shudder beneath my fingers. Damn, he had a nice ass. "I...don't like to think about it." he said slowly.

"Really? Because I do."

Piers held me a little bit tighter. I could definitely feel why he was so embarassed now. I was getting a little self-conscious too, but I tried to get past it. I had no reason to be shy, I knew Piers was as in love with me as I was with him. It was just...the idea of...

"So...any New Years resolutions?" Piers asked me awkwardly. I laughed. "I never could really make any of those happen. Well, except for this one, and I don't usually talk about it..."

"Which one? What did you do for it?" Piers asked me.

"Just...it's nothing." I said. Piers looked right at me for a few seconds. "It was to build muscle, wasn't it?" he guessed. I sagged. "Yes." I admitted. "You got me." Piers tapped me on the arm. "Well, of all the resolutions to make happen, that was probably one of the better ones."

"Yeah, I guess..." I said absently. "Still...any for 2014?" he asked.

"Well...do you think...that we might be able to wipe the zombie virus from the planet in the next year?" I asked timidly.

Piers thought for a little while. "I don't know. Maybe. It might take two years..."

"Hopefully not longer."

"It's a good idea to put every last ounce of effort we can into that." Piers said. "But making it a New Years Resolution..."

"Might be a little crushing if we can't do it by the end of the year." I finished.

"Yeah. Still, maybe." Piers said. I kissed him gently. "And we won't have to kill all of them. Soon we're gonna be able to cure these viruses." I said warmly. In response, Piers slid his left hand up my back and around to my chest in a way that made me very, _very_ excited. "Chris..." he said slowly.

"Yeah, Piers?" I asked, gasping when I felt him slide his fingers underneath my shirt.

"I want us to really remember this New Years. Really make it special, 'ya know?"

"Uhh...sure I do." I said honestly, even though the idea I knew he was conveying terrified me. Not because of his condition, but because it was so...foreign to me. It scared me.

"Are you talking about...well, what I think you're talking about, Piers?" I asked tentatively.

Piers' smile lessened a little. "I think so. Elaborate on that."

As per his request, I reached down and gave his groin a squeeze. He jumped. "Fuck my idea. I like yours better." he breathed in my ear. "Me too." I said, despite my fear. Piers grinded into my hand slowly. "Are you sure, Chris?"

I gulped. Then, I took a deep breath. "It's a little early for us...but I'm ready for it. You?" I asked.

"I'm ready, Captain."

"Well...when?"

"Midnight." Piers said firmly. "I want you at midnight."

I took several more deep breaths. I had to get over my fear. To better do that, I concentrated on being seductive. On channeling my sexual energy past my fear. It definitely worked, seeing as how Piers gripped me and shook violently when I stroked his rear. He was smiling though, so I knew I was doing it right.

"Midnight." I whispered to him, offering a kiss. He accepted gladly. Thinking about fireworks, I had a feeling that this year was going to start off pretty good.

**~XOXO~**

* * *

**Alright, I've teased you long enough. Tomorrow night, things will happen that will be glorious and marvelous and all that is good in the world. (Just have to remember to start writing earlier.) Hope you enjoyed! —Chris**


	17. Fireworks

_**Regeneration**_

_**Chapter 17: Fireworks**_

* * *

**Merry Christmas, and happy New Year! Regeneration may just be finished. But don't worry! My Nivanfield-writing days are not over! -Chris  
**

* * *

_Claire Redfield_

"He's coming! Hide!" I hissed. Rebecca and I ran for our lives.

* * *

_Chris Redfield_

It was getting pretty late, so I hefted Peirs' rifle under my arm.I opened the door back into the hallway. I could have sworn I'd heard something, but I didn't see anyone. With Piers by my side, I walked out and through the halls of the headquarters. I couldn't help but throw glances back at anyone we passed. I didn't quite want anyone to know that Piers and I were...well, a relationship now. Piers noticed, but didn't say anything. I guess he felt the same way. Eventually, we came to a hall that split off in two directions.

"Your quarters or mine?" I whispered in his ear.

"Yours." he whispered back. I kissed him on the cheek and we went to in the direction of my place. We didn't talk much on the way threre. When we got there, I unlocked my door, pulled him in, locked it again, and turned around to him. I'd never had him in my quarters before.

"Uh...sorry if it's a little bit messy..." I say timidly. "I don't think I've cleaned here since Christmas, so..."

"It's fine." Piers said with a smile. "As long as I don't see any beer bottles anywhere." he said, grinning. I sighed inwardly, glad I'd chosen to lay off of the alcohol for December. "So, what time is it?" Piers asked. I checked my phone. "About 11:35."

"Hmm." Piers said, looking at the ground. This was awkward. It shouldn't be like this. "Do you...wanna go back to your room?" he suggested. I knew what it was for, and didn't pretend otherwise. "Sure." I said, leading him back to my bedroom. I opened the door and let him in, and instantly regretted not taking a moment to check it first.

My room was mostly clean, but Piers was instantly taken with my award wall. It had every award on it I'd ever won, dating back to when I joined S.T.A.R.S. There were dozens of them. Any other time they would have given me pride, but now, they made me feel like a showoff-ish asshole. He was gawking at them! I tried to pull him down to sit on the bed, but he shoved my arm away. "Wow..." he said.

"It's...not that great." I said, wincing. "It is too!" Piers insisted. It looked like he was counting them as well as reading them. "This is amazing! I knew you were a great soldier, ...no less than I expected, but it's really cool to see them all lined up like this!" he admired.

"Yeah...I guess." I said. I steadily pulled him onto the bed with me. "You shouldn't make a big deal out of this. Come on, let's watch the fireworks." I suggested. Cuddling close to me, he seemed to be content with that. I reached over and lifted the curtains over the window, and the explosions of fire and sparks were now visible.

"Happy New Year, Chris." he said to me.

"Happy New Year, Piers." I looked at the clock, nervous. 11:43 P.M. We sort of...snuggled for a little while, until a few minutes later, when Piers perked up. "Hey, is that supposed to be there?" he asked, pointing. When I saw what he was pointing at, I blushed. "Yes, it is." he was pointing behind me, to the Chris Teddy bear. "It's always there." I admitted. "Do you seriously...?" Piers trailed off. "Sleep with it?" I said. Closing my eyes, I told the truth. "Yes. Every night."

"You do not."

"I do too!" I said. "I promise. It's aways here when I go to sleep." I leaned over and pressed the B.S.A.A. button on its chest. "_**I am not cute. I am hardcore.**_" it said, and I burst out laughing again. "You really did a good job making it sound like me!" I said, but Piers just looked a little sad. "I really am sorry, Chris. That's just the only thing I could think of." he said sadly.

"Piers, I love it. This is the cutest thing ever! I wouldn't lie about that."

"Are you sure about that?" Piers asked. "I promise. I got you a war toy, you got me something that has a lot more meaning to it!"

"That sounds so sappy." Piers said.

"Yes, but it's true." I assured him. "You wanna know what I named him?" I asked.

"You did not!"

"I did!" I said, grinning. "There is no way in hell you gave that teddy bear a name." Piers said.

"Christopher Theodore Redbear!" I almost sang. Piers choked, laughing into my chest. "C-Chris, C-Christoph-pher, R-Redbear!" he giggled.

"Yep." I said simply, kissing him. "And he is my teddy bear and no one else's."

"Kind of like someone I have." Piers purred, trailing a finger down my chest. I wrapped my arms around him tighter, and ran my hand through his hair. Then, I slid my other hand down his right arm. It had been a whole month since the first attack, and his arm had re-mutated. Since then, his arm had definitely shrank a lot. It was still...well, big and green and bioelectric, but now it was about the size of my own arm. He noticed me, but didn't say anything. For a long while, we were silent.

**Until Piers attacked me.**

He pretty much tackled me, forcing me back into a lying position underneath him on the bed. I didn't quite register his lips on mine until after I'd checked the clock: 12:00, midnight. It was New Years Day.

And Piers was being pretty possessive. He was not waiting for me to get into this. His hands were under my shirt, in my pants, just about everywhere. Before I knew it, I was shirtless and Piers was running his tongue down my chest.

"Piers...Piers, baby, slow down." I said, in complete disbelief that I had just called him "baby". Piers did slow down, now sucking gently on my nipple. "Easy..." I said, calming him down. I stroked his head softly. "You didn't even give me any warning!" I said.

"Wasn't planning to anyway." Piers said. His hands quickly unfastened my button and zipper, and I was in my boxers. Before he could do anything else, I yanked him back up to me, and kissed him softly. "Slow down..." I said, kissing him again and feeling his tongue slide between my lips. I felt his left hand on my face, and his right weighing down the section of the bed next to me. I wondered how he'd gotten my zipper undone so fast.

"I love you, Chris..." he breathed.

"I love you too, Piers." I said automatically.

"Show me." he said. "Show me you love me."

I obliged immediately, making short work of his own shirt and pants, then stopping briefly, unsure of myself. Should I get him completely undressed? Should I get undressed first? But Piers wasn't waiting for me. Fireworks shot off in my window and in my head as Piers slipped out of his boxers, repeating the action with me. Feeling his groin rubbing against mine drove me giddy, and that's not even a word I usually use. I squeezed him to me, feeling him wrapping his legs around my waist. "Piers...Piers, are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Piers said, his hot breath on my neck. "I want you, Chris, I want all of you. I have for a long time, and I'm _not_ taking it slow, not now that I have a chance."

"If this is what you want..." I said into his ear.

"_Now, _Chris!" he said. Bracing myself, I gripped his hips tightly and stared up at him for a few seconds, before giving him one more kiss. Then, I slid myself between his legs, and pressed myself inside him. He shuddered, gripping my shoulders tightly—with _both_ his hands—and a few sparks ran up and down his arm. "Does it hurt?" I asked him, concerned.

"Yes..." he breathed. "Keep going." he urged. I closed my eyes. The warmth around my shaft was incredible. I slid myself further in, trying to resist the urge to go faster for the sake of not hurting him. When I was entirely in, I slowly drew back out.

"Faster, Chris." he said as more fireworks sounded. I barely registered them; the only fireworks I was worried about were the ones I was feeling. I obliged him, and gripped his hips tighter. Feeling him on top of me, his hands underneath me, all around me, it was driving me nuts. I slid back into him, going a little bit faster and drawing a low moan from him. "C-Chris."

I did it again, this time pumping out a quick, steady rhythm. He bit my shoulder gently, and I gave a groan as his tongue moved across my skin again. I started to move faster in and out of him. "Piers..." I couldn't resist saying. "I need you, Piers..."

"You have to make it happen, Captain..." he whispered to me. Nodding, I drew out, and then slammed back into him with more force. Piers gasped, and gripped me even harder than before. "D-Do that again!" I slammed into him a second time, enjoying the way he convulsed and tightened around me when I did. "Shit..." I cursed, before rolling us over. I gasped, hoping I didn't hurt him, then leaned over him for a few seconds. He looked up at me, then closed his eyes. I placed my hands on his chest, then used him to steady myself as I began to thrust inside him faster and harder. Stars burst behind my eyelids as I struck him repeatedly. Piers held me and moaned again. "Right there, right there, Chris..."

I knew I'd hit his prostate. I angled myself upward a little, then rammed myself back into him. With a yelp, I saw everything flash white. Piers screamed; No, no, not now, this couldn't happen now. I tried to move, but the searing electricity might as well have glued my to him. Convulsing, I screamed too, before collapsing on top of him.

Fireworks...I could hear them. It hadn't hurt quite so much as...felt weird. I could feel shocks still vibrating up and down my body, but they didn't bring pain. Steeling myself, I gathered my strength and pushed myself up until I was staring down at Piers. "Piers...are you...okay?...P-Piers!"

"Captain..." Piers groaned, his eyes fluttering. "Piers, stay with me!"

"No worries..." he said, and I blinked. What? "Chris, that...was...fucking..._amazing_." he said. Looking down between us, I saw a pool of white splattered between our abdomens. As I watched, sparks flashed between them. Judging my the hot wetness I was feeling around my dick and the exhaustion I was feeling, we had both hit our climaxes. "Are you...sure you're...okay?" I asked, breathing heavily.

"Never...been...better..." Piers said, arms sliding around me to pull me into a kiss. I felt his right hand, or claws, or whatever, run through my hair, making it stand up. I kissed him back, feeling him holding me tight. "Happy...New Years...Chris..."

I took a deep breath before answering. "And may you have many more." I said, the effort tiring me. He grinned up at me. "Promise?"

"On my life." I said, laying back down with him.

As I stared down at him, then back up at the teddy bear above me, one word ran through my head. Then I changed it to two words. _Holy fuck._

* * *

_Piers Nivans_

I woke up, a familiar wamrth all around me and a particular one still inside me. Strangely, I wasn't hurting. I wasn't sure what had happened earlier, but I was sure I had liked it. Looking over at the clock, I saw that it read 5:47 A.M. I sighed, and slid my hand down Chris's back. I had been with women before, but before tonight...

I wouldn't tell Chris that. He'd just think it was cute, but it wasn't. And to be honest, I was glad that Chris had been the one to take me for my first time. I breathed in his scent, enjoying his body relaxed against mine. Other than the fireworks _still_ going on outside, and the alarm clock light, everything was dark. Then, I realized something.

The curtains had been open that whole time! Sure, we were on the second floor, but God, I hoped no one had seen what we'd done. I had a very bad feeling someone had definitely heard it. Hopefully, we could blame any noise we'd made on those damn pyro-pretties outside.

I calmed myself, reminding myself that it was New Years. It was officially January 1st, 2014. I would be back on the field in a matter of two months. "I love you, Chris." I whispered in his ear. He didn't respond, but I saw that smile forming on his lips. I kissed him gently, slipping my tongue into his mouth again. I closed my eyes, simply enjoying him.

_Happy New Years, Chris. We'll have a lot more, I know we will._

**~XOXO~**

* * *

**Well, here you are. I hope you all got what you wanted. I tried to make it long, but alas, not to be. Enjoy, please review! —Chris**


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